A genus of ericaceous shrubs with evergreen foliage, and, often, edible berries. It includes the American winter-green (Gaultheria procumbens), and the larger-fruited salal of Northwestern America (Gaultheria Shallon).

widely distributed genus of creeping or upright evergreen shrubs

Gaultheria is a genus of about 170-180 species of shrubs in the family Ericaceae. They are native to Asia, North and South America, and Australasia. In the past, the Southern Hemisphere species were often treated in a separate genus Pernettya; however, there is no consistent reliable morphological or genetic difference to support recognition of two genera, and they are now united in the single genus Gaultheria.