Gaultheria acuminata Schlechtendal & Chamisso, Linnaea 5: 126.  1830.  Brossea acuminata (Schlechtendal & Chamisso) O. Kuntze, Revis. gen. pl. 2:388.  1891.  Type.  Mexico.  Veracruz, Cerro Colorado, Aug 1828 (fl), Schiede 581 (lectotype designated by Luteyn, 1995, HAL, photo Corcoran neg. 7;  isotype, HAL).
     
    Gaultheria ovata A. P. de Candolle, Prodr. 7: 596.  1839.  Brossea ovata (A. P. de Candolle) O. Kuntze, Revis. gen. pl. 2: 388.  1891.  Type.  Mexico, between Tampico and Real del Monte, 18 May 1827 (fl), Berlandier 327 (holotype, G-DC; isotypes, frag. F, G, photo F neg. 26627, NY, P).
    Gaultheria nitida Bentham, Pl. hartw. 45.  1840. Brossea nitida (Bentham) O. Kuntze, Revis. gen. pl. 2: 388. 1891. Gaultheria acuminata Schlechtendal & Chamisso var. nitida (Bentham) Camp, Bull. Torrey Bot. Cl. 66: 10.  1939.  Type.  Mexico.  Hidalgo:  "Banco", 1840, Hartweg 344 (holotype, K, photos Corcoran neg. 1 and MICH neg. 698; isotypes, BR, CGE, G, GH, L, LD, NY, OXF, W-2x).
    Gaultheria laevigata Martens & Galeotti, Bull. Acad. Roy. Sci. Bruxelles 9: 541.  1842.  Type.  Mexico.  Oaxaca:  Lago de Tanetze and Yotao, Nov 1839 (fl), Galeotti 1823 (lectotype designated by Luteyn, 1995, BR, photo Corcoran neg. 5;  isotypes, BR, G, K, photo Corcoran neg. 6, W).
    Gaultheria acuminata Schlechtendal & Chamisso var. lancifolia Schlechtendal, Linnaea 19: 74.  1847.  Type.  Mexico, F. E. Leibold 14 (holotype, HAL, photo Corcoran neg. 3).

    Gaultheria nelsonii Small, N. Amer. Fl. 29: 77.  1914.  Type.  Mexico. Oaxaca:  Near Totontepec, Jul 1894 (fl), E. W. Nelson 822 (holotype, US, photo Corcoran neg. 2).

    Gaultheria pringlei Camp, Bull. Torrey Bot. Cl. 66: 10.  1939.  Type.  Mexico. Veracruz:  Near Jalapa, 1231 m, 15 May 1900 (fl), C. G. Pringle 8336 (holotype, NY, photo Corcoran neg. 8;  isotypes, A, CM, photo NY neg. 10883, F, G, GH, GOET, MA, MEXU, MICH, MO, MSC, U, UC, US, W).
    Gaultheria chiapensis Camp, Bull. Torrey Bot. Cl. 66: 12.  1939.  Type. Mexico.  Chiapas:  Cerro de Mapastepec, Jan 1938 (fl), Matuda 2041 (holotype, NY, photo Corcoran neg. 9; isotypes, A, K, MICH, NY, photo NY neg. 9903, US).
    Gaultheria acuminata Schlechtendal & Chamisso var. rekoi Camp in Schultes, Bot. Mus. Leafl. 9: 181.  1941.  Type.  Mexico.  Oaxaca:  Road betw. Teotitlán del Camino and Huantla de Jiménez, 1400 m, 2 Aug 1938 (fl), Schultes & Reko 374 (holotype, NY, photo Corcoran neg. 10).


         Erect, usually arching shrub or small tree 0.5-7 m tall;  mature stem terete to subterete, bluntly angled and/or striate, glabrous or occasionally with remnants of setae, sometimes glaucous, with odor of wintergreen when broken; bark thin, shredding in longitudinal strips;  twigs subterete to complanate, striate to bluntly angled, glabrous to puberulent, without setose hairs;  newly flushing stems and leaves sometimes with glandular setae leaving punctae after they fall.  Leaves coriaceous, ovate to elliptic (or very rarely oblong or slightly obovate), (2.3-)8-15 x (1.3-)2.2-6(-7) cm, base cuneate or obtuse to rounded (or truncate to subcordate), apex acute to long-acuminate, rarely obtuse, serrulate, with each tooth terminating in a deciduous, basally swollen hair, glabrous above or puberulent along veins, glandular-fimbriate beneath becoming punctate after these fall (or glabrous), with odor of wintergreen when cut; midrib conspicuous and impressed above, lateral nerves 3-4 per side, impressed or slightly raised above, reticulate veinlets raised above,  all veins raised beneath;  petiole subterete, flattened to broadly canaliculate above,  rugose, 3-9(-14) x 1-2.2 mm, glabrous to puberulent, sometimes glandular setose. Inflorescence axillary, racemose, to 38-flowered;  rachis bluntly angled, 3-14(-21) cm long, glabrous or usually puberulent to densely short-pilose with white hairs (or very rarely with scattered glandular or eglandular setae); pedicels 4-9(-14) mm long, glabrous to densely short-pilose (or with few gland-tipped hairs);  bracteoles located near base of pedicel or more usually above the middle, opposite to more often subopposite, striate, linear to ovate, 2-5 x 0.3-1.3 mm, glabrous or sometimes puberulent, ciliate but sometimes also with gland-tipped hairs along margin;  floral bract striate, cochleariform, ovate to obovate, or oblanceolate, (3-)5.6-12.8(-13.3) x 3-4 mm, usually glabrous (or puberulent), ciliate.  Calyx 2.3-4 mm long, usually glabrous or sometimes short-pilose especially at base (but then lobes essentially glabrous within), lobes narrowly to broadly triangular or ovate, 1.2-3.3(-3.8) x 1-2.3 mm, acute to acuminate, glabrous (or very rarely with a few gland-tipped setae on lamina), ciliate;  corolla urceolate, 3.8-6.5(-7.8) x 3.5-5 mm, white or suffused with pink to dark pink when fresh, glabrous or sparsely to densely short-pilose without (or very rarely also with scattered  gland-tipped or eglandular setae), usually puberulent within, lobes triangular, 0.5-1.2 mm long, obtuse, sometimes ciliolate;  stamens 2-4.5(-4.8) mm long;  filaments (1.2-)1.5-2.8(-3.3) mm long, densely short-pilose;  anthers 1-2.2(-3) mm long, awns prominent, 0.3-1 mm long;  ovary densely short-pilose;  style 3.2-4 mm long, glabrous (or very rarely short-pilose).  Fruiting calyx 4-12 mm diam., blue-black.

         Distribution (Map).  Common and widespread from east-central to southern Mexico, less frequent in El Salvador and Honduras, in disturbed, open areas, rocky slopes, forest edges, and volcanic craters at elevations of 950-3000 m. Flowering throughout the year.

         Common names and uses.  Mexico:  axocopaque (Guerrero, Puebla);  ya-to-skwa-ree (plant) and to-skwa (fruit) (Oaxaca, Mazatec Indians);  astringosol, axocopani (Puebla);  achocopa, arryan, ashocopa, pipicho (Veracruz).  Used as decoration and as a bath for fever (Velázquez 73) in Veracruz.  The fruits are eaten by the Mazatec Indians in Oaxaca (Schultes, 1941).

        Cultivated:  E.