Arctostaphylos uva-ursi

Bearberry has bear in both its common and latin name, which the internet informs me is because of ursine predilections for the taste of this plant. The latin name uva-ursi, means something like bear’s bunch of grapes. But it’s the common name I’m intrigued by - does our memory of this plant predate the extinction of bears in Britain?

There isn't a great deal of talk about bears in Britain – even though their local extinction was anthropogenic and their contribution to nutrient cycling and microhabitat creation would be considerable. I imagine its viewed as counterproductive to discuss the return of a species which is a genuine threat to human beings, until we have at least got lynx back. That is probably wise.

Anyway, bearberry at least is widespread and often abundant in upland areas of the Highlands, but can occur right down to sea level in the west. (The photo above was taken on the Isle of Coll – here the strong winds & thin soil probably enable bearberry to compete with the more dominant heather.) In Scotland it is generally viewed as a plant of open habitats – the characteristic NVC community being H16 Calluna vulgaris – Arctostaphylos uva-ursi heath, but also H14c, H15 and other heaths (see Averis et al., 2004). In Scandinavia, it also occurs in open upland birch and pinewoods. As bearberry forms mycorrhizal associations with many fungi which can form similar associations with trees, it has been suggested as a good indicator for suitable areas for afforestation (Treestory have an interesting blog post on this).

Outside of the Highlands it is really uncommon and has been planted by Borders Forest Trust as part of ecological restoration work in the South of Scotland. One of the relict populations in the Scottish Borders is on a track at low elevation in a moorland managed for sheep grazing and grouse shooting. The burning and grazing perhaps prevents it being outcompeted by heather, but I don’t understand why it occurs here and not elsewhere, as there is certainly plenty of burning and grazing going on in the South of Scotland…

So perhaps we call it bearberry because this species is only abundant in the Highlands, and therefore did not have an English name until after botanists were aware of this species as one also present in other places with bears?

The gaelic name for bearberry is grainnseag, which has nothing to do with bears, and apparently is related to its grainy taste (as is the Norwegian name, melbær)

The most likely confusion species are probably cowberry/lingonberry (Vaccinium vitis-ideae) and alpine bearberry (Arctostaphylous alpinus).

The leaves of bearberry are strongly reticulate (net-veined) below whereas those of cowberry are not. Bearberry flowers are pink tinged at the bottom and tubular all the way down, whereas the corolla (tube of petals) of cowberry is more consistently mottled pink and white, and upturned at the ends.

The leaves of alpine bearberry are net-veined on both sides, and have ciliate margins (hairs sticking out the sides of the leaves). Its stem is reddish and fruits are black. Alpine bearberry also has kind of strung out crinkly look to it because its leaves are deciduous but often retained, so once you’ve seen it you’re unlikely to mistake them for each other. Here is a photo of Arctostaphylos alpinus taken in Norway in spring 2023.

Bears are big hairy mammals, and unlikely to be mistaken for any vascular plants (try holding a hand lens up to one to check).