Guide

Look closerPlants

Teaberry, the wintergreen with red berries

November to March

Eastern teaberry, also called American wintergreen, is a low evergreen groundcover of oak and pine woods that can hold its round red berries through the cold months. Crush one leaf and it smells of wintergreen.

Why this time of year

The berries ripen by fall and can stay on the plant into the next spring, so through the cold months it is one of the few red-dotted, leafy things left on the woodland floor.

How to notice it

  1. On a day when the ground is bare of snow, walk the edge or floor of an oak or pine woodland and scan the ground for a very low patch, a few inches tall (about 3 to 8), of shiny dark evergreen leaves.
  2. Lift a leaf gently and look underneath for round red berries, about a quarter to a half inch across, hanging beneath the leaves.
  3. Pinch one leaf, crush it between your fingers, and sniff for a wintergreen smell. Do not taste the berries or leaves.

Try this with kids: Can you find a berry hiding under the leaves, then crush one leaf and decide whether it smells like mint gum?

Word to know: “Wintergreen” is the cool, minty scent of oil of wintergreen, which is mostly a chemical called methyl salicylate.

Safety

  • Look and sniff only: do not eat wild plants unless you are completely sure what they are.
  • Concentrated oil of wintergreen is toxic if swallowed, especially for children, and people allergic to aspirin or salicylates may react to it.
  • Leave the plant in place; crush only a single leaf.

Sources

  • fs.usda.govUS Forest Service FEIS: 'The fruit may remain attached till the following spring'; fruit persists through winter and it is one of the few sources of green leaves in winter; leaves usually persist through winter; occurs in pine and hardwood forests of New England and in maple-oak understory.
  • gobotany.nativeplanttrust.orgNative Plant Trust Go Botany: dry-mesic to mesic forests and acidic woodlands across New England; bright red berries late summer through fall persisting into winter; evergreen foliage; wintergreen smell.
  • plants.ces.ncsu.eduNC State Extension Plant Toolbox: scarlet fruits September to November persisting through winter; crushed leaves release a wintergreen fragrance; leaves may turn purple in fall; broadleaf evergreen.
  • dendro.cnre.vt.eduVirginia Tech Dendrology: 3 to 5 inches tall; fruit red, round, 1/4 to 1/2 inch, hanging beneath the leaves; ripen late summer and persist into winter; wintergreen odor when crushed.
  • webmd.comWebMD (consumer health, about the oil): wintergreen oil contains large amounts of methyl salicylate; people allergic to aspirin or salicylate may also be allergic; the oil is not safe to take by mouth and is toxic to children if swallowed.

Checked against these sources on October 2, 2026.

In the guide for November, December, January, February, March

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