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Gaultheria oppositifolia
Gaultheria oppositifolia is a stout, bushy, spreading shrub endemic to New Zealand's North Island, mostly found on rocky ground and often under manuka scrub. It is rarely grown in gardens, so the key to growing it is to mimic its rocky, well-drained, lightly shaded native conditions.
Gaultheria oppositifolia is a shrub in the heath family Ericaceae, endemic to New Zealand. Māori names include kama and niniwa. Common name for the genus in New Zealand is snowberry.
G. oppositifolia is a stout bushy spreading shrub that grows mostly in rocky places in the North Island, often observed beneath manuka scrub. The pairs of oval leathery toothed leaves are attached directly to the twigs. Late summer flowers are white and bell-shaped, and appear in clusters up to 10 cm (3.9 in) long at the tips of twigs. Leaves are 3–6 cm (1.2–2.4 in) long by 2–3 cm (0.79–1.18 in) wide. Autumn fruit is a dry red or white capsule.
Scarlet Snowberry · Gaultheria fragrantissima · Creeping snowberry · Gaultheria insipida · Prickly Heath · Eastern teaberry · Salal · Snowberry
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Gaultheria oppositifolia by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
