bearberry
(ˈbɛəbɛrɪ)
[f. bear n.1 + berry.]
a. A procumbent shrub, Arctostaphylos uva-ursi (family Ericaceæ), the astringent berries of which are a favourite food of grouse; also A. alpina (Black Bearberry). b. Sometimes applied to the allied Arbutus. † c. (erroneously) = barberry.
| 1625 Bacon Gardens, Ess. (Arb.) 562 The Standards to be..Beare-berries but here and there, because of the Smell of their Blossome. 1759 B. Stillingfl. in Misc. Tracts (1762) 205 The bear-berry..an efficacious astringent. 1859 W. Coleman Woodlands (1862) 97 Common bearberry..Its fair pink blossoms come out in May or June. |