[f. BEAR sb.1 + BERRY.] a. A procumbent shrub, Arctostaphylos uva-ursi (N.O. Ericaceæ), the astringent berries of which are a favorite food of grouse; also A. alpina (Black Bearberry). b. Sometimes applied to the allied Arbutus. † c. (erroneously) = BARBERRY.
1625. Bacon, Gardens, Ess. (Arb.), 562. The Standards to be … Beare-berries but here and there, because of the Smell of their Blossome.
1759. B. Stillingfl., in Misc. Tracts (1762), 205. The bear-berry … an efficacious astringent.
1859. W. Coleman, Woodlands (1862), 97. Common bearberry … Its fair pink blossoms come out in May or June.
