Botanical Name: Mitchella repens
Height: less than 10 cm
Bloom Time: Scented white flowers in early summer, followed by red berries. Both flowers and fruit are sparingly produced.
Growing Conditions: Trailing stems form a mat of evergreen leaves. Best and lushest in moist, acidic, organic soils, and light shade.
Ottawa Valley or Eastern Ontario seed source: Grown from cuttings. Original plants from our bush in western Quebec.
Wildlife benefits: Berries eaten by birds, white-footed mice, and other animals.
Remarks: A lovely evergreen ground cover but not easy in city conditions. Never aggressive enough to outcompete non-native species.
Similar species: Twinflower. Partridgeberry can be distinguished from Twinflower, Trailing Arbutus, Shinleaf, and other low evergreens creepers by its distinct, almost white, midrib.
Beaux Arbres Plantes Indigènes / Native Plants 