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Mitchella repens

Common name:	Partridge Berry	Family:	Rubiaceae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	11, 43, 200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	N. America - Newfoundland to Florida, west to Texas and Minnesota.
Habitat:	Dry or moist knolls in woods[43], on sandy sub-strates[200].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	3	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	3

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	Syringa baccifera[H]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Checkerberry [E], Deer Berry [E], Deerberry [E], Partridge Berry [E,S,H], Partridge-berry [B], Partridgeberry [E,P,DEN1,FEIS], Squaw Vine [H,S], Squawberry [E], Squawvine [E], Winter Clover [E],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	repens = creeping
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Rubiales. Madder family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Britain Us Us(Appalachia)

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen shrub growing to 0.05m by 0.5m . It is hardy to zone 3. It is in leaf all year, in flower from June to July. The scented flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs). We rate it 3/5 for edibility and 3/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid and neutral soils and can grow in very acid soil. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Sunny Edge, Dappled Shade, Ground Cover.

Edible Uses

Fruit Tea.

Fruit - raw[2, 105, 161]. Pleasant and slightly aromatic[183]. Dry and tasteless, with lots of seeds according to another report[4]. The fruit hangs on well on the bush[1]. The fruit is about 8mm in diameter[200].
A tea is made from the leaves[207].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Astringent Diuretic Hypnotic Oxytoxic Sedative Tonic Women's complaints.

Partridge berry was commonly used by several native North American Indian tribes as a parturient to hasten childbirth. It was also occasionally used to treat a variety of other complaints including insomnia, rheumatic pain and fluid retention[254]. It is still used in modern herbalism as an aid to childbirth and is also considered to have a tonic effect upon the uterus and the ovaries[254].
The herb is astringent, diuretic, hypnotic and tonic[4, 21, 102, 165, 192, 213]. Frequent doses of a tea made from the fresh or dried leaves were used by N. American Indian women in the weeks preceding childbirth in order to promote easy delivery[213, 222, 238]. This tea should not be used during the first six months of labour, however, since it can induce a miscarriage[238]. The tea is also used to treat delayed, painful or irregular menses[222, 238].
The tea was also used externally as a wash for hives, swellings, sore nipples, rheumatism etc[222]. The leaves are harvested in the summer and dried for later use[238].
A tea made from the berries has a very definite sedating effect on the nervous system[192].

We have a more details factsheet on the history and medicinal use of this plant. Email webmaster@pfaf.org for details.

Other Uses

Ground cover.

Can be used as a ground cover plant in a shady position[3, 188]. Plants form a spreading carpet, rooting along the stems, and are best spaced about 30cm apart each way[208].

Cultivation details

Requires a moist but well-drained lime-free soil and some shade[11]. Prefers a peaty soil[1, 200], succeeding in neutral to acid soils[200].
Plants are hardy to at least -20° c[200].
A trailing plant, the stems forming new roots at the nodes[192].
The dried leaves have a scent of newly mown hay[245]. The flowers have a pleasant sweet fragrance[245].
Succeeds in the shade of trees[1, 11], growing well in a woodland and in the rock garden[1, 200]. Plants can be difficult to establish[188], though they can become invasive once they are well established[238].

Propagation

Seed - it germinates better if given 3 months cold stratification and so it is best sown as soon as it is ripe in the autumn[113]. Sow stored seed as early in the year as possible. Make sure that all the fruit pulp is removed from the seed because it contains germination inhibitors[113]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
Division of naturally layered stems in the spring[200].
Cuttings.

Scent

Flowers: Fresh: The flowers have a pleasant sweet fragrance[245].
Leaves: Dried: The dried leaves have the smell of newly mown hay[245].

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

PFAF Web Pages

This plant is mentioned in the following web pages

Web References

Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[S] Image from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[S] Image from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[S] Illustration from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[S] Image from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[S] Illustration from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database
[DEN] Data _ Photos (Good Identification info) from the Virginia Tech's Dendrology Deptarments' Tree Fact Sheets.
[FEIS] Data (Uses, Ecology, Fire Effects) from the USDA Forestry Service Fire Effects Information System.

References for the family Rubiaceae.

To be included in the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[3] Simmons. A. E. Growing Unusual Fruit. David and Charles 1972 ISBN 0-7153-5531-7
A very readable book with information on about 100 species that can be grown in Britain (some in greenhouses) and details on how to grow and use them.

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[11] Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981
A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.

[21] Lust. J. The Herb Book. Bantam books 1983 ISBN 0-553-23827-2
Lots of information tightly crammed into a fairly small book.

[43] Fernald. M. L. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co. 1950
A bit dated but good and concise flora of the eastern part of N. America.

[102] Kavasch. B. Native Harvests. Vintage Books 1979 ISBN 0-394-72811-4
Another guide to the wild foods of America.

[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.

[113] Dirr. M. A. and Heuser. M. W. The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation. Athens Ga. Varsity Press 1987 ISBN 0942375009
A very detailed book on propagating trees. Not for the casual reader.

[161] Yanovsky. E. Food Plants of the N. American Indians. Publication no. 237. U.S. Depf of Agriculture.
A comprehensive but very terse guide. Not for the casual reader.

[165] Mills. S. Y. The Dictionary of Modern Herbalism.
An excellent small herbal.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[188] Brickell. C. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. 1990 ISBN 0-86318-386-7
Excellent range of photographs, some cultivation details but very little information on plant uses.

[192] Emboden. W. Narcotic Plants Studio Vista 1979 ISBN 0-289-70864-8
A lot of details about the history, chemistry and use of narcotic plants, including hallucinogens, stimulants, inebriants and hypnotics.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[207] Coffey. T. The History and Folklore of North American Wild Flowers. Facts on File. 1993 ISBN 0-8160-2624-6
A nice read, lots of information on plant uses.

[208] Thomas. G. S. Plants for Ground Cover J. M. Dent & Sons 1990 ISBN 0-460-12609-1
An excellent detailled book on the subject, very comprehensive.

[213] Weiner. M. A. Earth Medicine, Earth Food. Ballantine Books 1980 ISBN 0-449-90589-6
A nice book to read though it is difficult to look up individual plants since the book is divided into separate sections dealing with the different medicinal uses plus a section on edible plants. Common names are used instead of botanical.

[222] Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1990 ISBN 0395467225
A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties.

[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.

[245] Genders. R. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale. London. 1994 ISBN 0-7090-5440-8
An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.

[254] Chevallier. A. The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants Dorling Kindersley. London 1996 ISBN 9-780751-303148
An excellent guide to over 500 of the more well known medicinal herbs from around the world.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
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We make no claims of magical effects or supernatural powers for any item in this catalog. In spite of legendary attributes or occult and craft tradition, such items are offered as curios only and beliefs concerning their magical effectiveness are related only for historical interest.