Bearberry, common name for several unrelated plants with berries that are reputedly eaten by bears. The name most commonly refers to an evergreen shrub. A native of northern Eurasia, introduced and now common in the northern United States and Canada, it is low and trailing with leathery, green leaves, white to pink flowers, and red berries. It is cultivated as a ground cover. The black, or alpine, bearberry is a Canadian plant with deciduous, wrinkled leaves and black berries. It may grow as far south as the northern United States. Cascara (see Cascara Sagrada) is sometimes called bearberry.
Scientific classification: The name bearberry most commonly refers to plants of the genus Arctostaphylos of the family Ericaceae, and particularly to the evergreen shrub classified as Arctostaphylos uva-ursi. The black, or alpine, bearberry is classified as Arctostaphylos alpina.