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"Shiratama-no-ki" (Gaultheria pyroloides) belongs to Ericaceae (the Azalea family). It is an evergreen shrub that is native from Chubu district of Honshu north to Hokkaido in Japan, the Kril Islands and Sakhalin. This shrub grows in sub-alpine to alpine forest edges and grasslands, and it can reach 5-20 cm in height. The leaves are elliptic, leathery, coarsely serrated and arranged in alternate. The 1-6, white, urn-shaped flowers bloom descending in the racemes at the top branches and upper axils from July to August. The fruits are white round, berry-like calpules. The stems, leaves and fruits have methyl salicylate odor.
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