A low-growing evergreen shrub bearing small red berries; also called kinnikinnick or uva-ursi, known for medicinal properties and eaten by bears and other wildlife.
From bear combined with berry (Old English 'berige'). The plant was named for the bears that feed on its fruit, which contains compounds used in traditional medicine.
Bearberry got its scientific name 'uva-ursi' (grape of the bear) in Latin, showing that Romans also noticed bears eating this plant—the observation is literally 2,000 years old!
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