Gaultheria shallon

Traditionally, Gaultheria shallon was used by native peoples of the Northwest. Today it is cultivated as an ornamental and used in landscapes as a groundcover. Florists use the attractive foliage in cut flower arrangements. Salal is native to the U.S. and is in the Ericaceae (heath) family.
Photo Credit: © 2008 Ted Niehaus. Courtesy of life.nbii.gov.
Gaultheria shallon
Common Name: salal
Plant Functional Group: Evergreen broadleaf
Class > Order > Family: Magnoliopsida > Ericales > Ericaceae
What does the species look like? Gaultheria shallon is a perennial, evergreen shrub with an erect growth form. Plants grow to 1 to 4 feet in height from rhizomes. The foliage is glossy green, round to oval-shaped and has a leathery texture. The mature bark and twigs of salal are grayish-brown and smooth. The twigs change angles between each node, giving it a zig-zag appearance. The flowers of salal are white to pale pink, and the fruit is a dark blue to purple berry. Salal forms thickets.   Gaultheria shallon tolerates both open sun and shade. It grows as an understory, dominant in a variety of lowland to montane, coniferous or mixed evergreen forests. In full sun, it forms dense thickets, and in shadier environments, it is more spindly.   The berries of salal are a good food source for birds and other wildlife. Deer, elk, and small mammals such as beaver feed on the foliage of salal.
Where is the species found?
States & Provinces
AK, BC, CA, OR, WA
Special Considerations for Observing
Gaultheria shallon is a USA-NPN regional plant species. Regional species are ecologically or economically important but are distributed more locally than calibration species. The NPN integrates these observations to understand better plant responses within the different geographic regions of the nation.
Which phenophases should I observe?
Do you see...?
Leaves Breaking leaf buds
One or more breaking leaf buds are visible on the plant. A leaf bud is considered "breaking" once a green leaf tip is visible at the end of the bud, but before the first leaf from the bud has unfolded to expose the leaf base at its point of attachment to the leaf stalk (petiole) or stem.
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How many buds are breaking?

  • Less than 3
  • 3 to 10
  • 11 to 100
  • 101 to 1,000
  • 1,001 to 10,000
  • More than 10,000
Young leaves
One or more young, unfolded leaves are visible on the plant. A leaf is considered "young" and "unfolded" once its entire length has emerged from a breaking bud, stem node or growing stem tip, so that the leaf base is visible at its point of attachment to the leaf stalk (petiole) or stem, but before the leaf has reached full size or turned the darker green color or tougher texture of mature leaves on the plant. Do not include fully dried or dead leaves.

How many young leaves are present?

  • Less than 3
  • 3 to 10
  • 11 to 100
  • 101 to 1,000
  • 1,001 to 10,000
  • More than 10,000
Flowers Flowers or flower buds
One or more fresh open or unopened flowers or flower buds are visible on the plant. Include flower buds or inflorescences that are swelling or expanding, but do not include those that are tightly closed and not actively growing (dormant). Also do not include wilted or dried flowers.
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How many flowers and flower buds are present? For species in which individual flowers are clustered in flower heads, spikes or catkins (inflorescences), simply estimate the number of flower heads, spikes or catkins and not the number of individual flowers.

  • Less than 3
  • 3 to 10
  • 11 to 100
  • 101 to 1,000
  • 1,001 to 10,000
  • More than 10,000
Open flowers
One or more open, fresh flowers are visible on the plant. Flowers are considered "open" when the reproductive parts (male stamens or female pistils) are visible between or within unfolded or open flower parts (petals, floral tubes or sepals). Do not include wilted or dried flowers.
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What percentage of all fresh flowers (buds plus unopened plus open) on the plant are open? For species in which individual flowers are clustered in flower heads, spikes or catkins (inflorescences), estimate the percentage of all individual flowers that are open.

  • Less than 5%
  • 5-24%
  • 25-49%
  • 50-74%
  • 75-94%
  • 95% or more
Fruits Fruits
One or more fruits are visible on the plant. For Gaultheria shallon, the fruit is a berry-like, fleshy capsule that changes from green to red to bluish-black or black-purple.
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How many fruits are present?

  • Less than 3
  • 3 to 10
  • 11 to 100
  • 101 to 1,000
  • 1,001 to 10,000
  • More than 10,000
Ripe fruits
One or more ripe fruits are visible on the plant. For Gaultheria shallon, a fruit is considered ripe when it has turned bluish-black or black-purple.
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What percentage of all fruits (unripe plus ripe) on the plant are ripe?

  • Less than 5%
  • 5-24%
  • 25-49%
  • 50-74%
  • 75-94%
  • 95% or more
Recent fruit or seed drop
One or more mature fruits or seeds have dropped or been removed from the plant since your last visit. Do not include obviously immature fruits that have dropped before ripening, such as in a heavy rain or wind, or empty fruits that had long ago dropped all of their seeds but remained on the plant.
More...

How many mature fruits have dropped seeds or have completely dropped or been removed from the plant since your last visit?

  • Less than 3
  • 3 to 10
  • 11 to 100
  • 101 to 1,000
  • 1,001 to 10,000
  • More than 10,000
What do these phenophases look like?

There is currently no photoguide available for this species. If you'd like help us create one, use the guidance document and species template provided here. Then send it via email to education@usanpn.org when it is complete.

ITIS information for salal (ITIS TSN: 23658 )
USDA PLANTS profile for salal (USDA Symbol: GASH )