Partridgeberry

Mitchella repens

Also: Twinberry, Running box, Mitchella

CoolingDryingTonifyingTo-watch list

A tiny woodland vine that tones the uterus and bladder.

A creeping evergreen vine of the forest floor with small, round, white-veined leaves and paired white flowers whose ovaries fuse into a single red berry with two dimples. Partridgeberry tones the uterus, bladder, and pelvic floor, steadies heavy periods, and prepares the uterus for birth in the final weeks.

Energetics: Cooling, drying, toning
Taste: Astringent
Family: Rubiaceae (madder family)
Parts used: Leaves and stems

Medicinal uses 4

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Traditional useLab and mechanism studiesClinical studies

Heavy or irregular periodsTLC
Steadies heavy menstrual bleeding.
Preparing for birthTLC
A traditional uterine tonic for the final weeks of pregnancy, often with raspberry leaf, under a midwife's guidance.
Bladder irritationTLC
Tones a slack, irritated bladder and eases painful urination.
Fluid retentionTLC
Helps the body let go of retained fluid, premenstrual bloating included.

Preparations

Leaf tea and tincture in small amounts.

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Cautions

Bleeding or cramping in pregnancy needs prompt medical care.
Its tannins reduce iron absorption; take iron supplements a couple of hours apart.

Sourcing

Partridgeberry is on United Plant Savers' to-watch list and spreads slowly. Small doses do the work, so buy cultivated herb or take only a few runners from large, healthy patches.

Medication interactions

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Pregnancy & breastfeeding

PregnancyFinal weeks, with guidance

Traditionally taken only in the last weeks of pregnancy, from about 36 weeks, to prepare the uterus for birth, and avoided earlier. Work with your midwife or OB.

BreastfeedingAsk your practitioner

A traditional postpartum tonic, but nursing has not been studied; check with your practitioner.

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Folklore

Linnaeus named the genus for John Mitchell, a Virginia physician and botanist who described many of the colony's plants. Each berry grows from two flowers whose ovaries fuse, so every fruit carries two small dimples where the flowers sat. The berries are edible but bland, and they hang on through winter for grouse and wild turkeys.

How to grow

A slow, creeping evergreen for deep shade and moist, acid, humus-rich soil; a fine ground cover under conifers. Gather leafy runners in summer, a few from each patch.

In the wild

Forest floors of eastern North America, from Nova Scotia and Ontario to Florida and Texas, often on mossy ground under conifers.

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