THE BULGARIAN FLORA ONLINE
THE BULGARIAN FLORA ONLINE
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Bearberry.
Arctostaphylos uva-ursi (L.) Spreng.
Partly protected species in Bulgaria.
Evergreen small procumbent woody groundcover shrub growing to 5–30 centimetres (2–12 inches) high. Wild stands of the species can be dense, with heights rarely taller than 15 cm (6 in). Erect branching twigs emerge from long flexible prostrate stems, which are produced by single roots. The trailing stems will layer, sending out small roots periodically. The finely textured velvety branches are initially white to pale green, becoming smooth and red-brown with maturity. The small solitary three-scaled buds are dark brown. The leaves are shiny, small, and feel thick and stiff,[6] measuring about 4 cm (1+1⁄2 in) long and 1 cm (1⁄2 in) wide. Their tops are darker green than their undersides. They have rounded tips tapering back to the base, held vertically by a twisted leaf stalk in an alternate arrangement on the stem. The leaves remain green for 1–3 years before falling in autumn, when their colour changes to a reddish-green or purple, pale on the underside. Terminal clusters of small urn-shaped flowers bloom from May to June. The flowers are white to pink, and bear round, fleshy or mealy, bright red to pink fruits called drupes. The smooth, glossy skinned fruits range from 1⁄4 to 1⁄2 inch (6 to 13 mm) in diameter. The red fruits persist on the plant into early winter. The fruits are bittersweet when raw, but sweeter when boiled and dried. Each drupe contains 1 to 5 hard seeds, which need to be scarified and stratified prior to germination to reduce the seed coat and break embryo dormancy. There is an average of 40,900 cleaned seeds per pound1.
In the mountain and high mountain belt of the Rila, Pirin, Vitosha, Stara planina, Osogovo, Belasitsa, Slavyanka, Middle and Western Rhodopes and Sredna Gora mountains; between 1000 and 2500 m altitude2.
Map of general distribution3:
1 Arctostaphylos uva-ursi - Wikipedia.
2 Елена Генова, Веска Русакова. 2015. В: Бисерков, В. и др. (ред.) 2015.Червена книга на Република България. Том 3. Природни местообитания. БАН & МОСВ.
3 Arctostaphylos uva-ursi (L.) Spreng. | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science.
The theory of evolution is a lie!