Here’s a short video I took foraging in a park in New Jersey. This area I was walking is located at the tip of the Pine Barrens; there is sandy acidic soil and a heath forest including rhododendron and blueberries, oaks, sassafras, etc. That means you can find wintergreen growing wherever you find that habitat.
The berries make a great snack, and the leaves make a wonderful tea, but should be harvested with respect to sustaining the plants life. After harvesting 1-2 leaves of each plant, I usually break the leaves up, maybe 6 to a cup, and simmer with a lid on for 10 minutes. After that if you want to increase the delicate but healing flavor you can take the leaves out and make a decoction.
This plant makes an incredibly delicious, refreshing, and medicinal tea which is anti-inflammatory as well as cleansing for the blood. It can also be found in mid winter when not much else can be found.
