I had heard of Wintergreen, but I don't think I had ever seen it until I saw a few plants for sale at the Cameron, NC Antiques Festival a few years ago.  I bought two or three and have babied them ever since so that now I have a few plants for sale.  It was not until I read Chester A. Reed's description of Wintergreen in his Wild Flowers East of the Rockies, published in 1910, that I really came to know it:  

"I doubt if there is a country boy or girl within the range of this plant, and it extends from Newfoundland to Manitoba and southwards to the Gulf, who is not perfectly familiar with it.  In Spring they search for "pippins," as they term the tender, young, yellow-green leaves of the new shoots that spring up on reddish stalks; the leaves have a very palatable, spicy, flavor, when they first appear.  In Fall, children troop to the woods and gather the bright, luscious checkerberries, competing with one another to see who will find the plant with the largest number of berries; ordinarily there were but two to a plant, but occasionally we may find five, six or even eight of them hanging beneath the sheltering leaves."

This native plant is a beautiful creeper with  shiny, evergreen leaves that are enjoyed by wildlife in winter and by the rest of us whenever the leaves are crushed to reveal their wintergreen scent.  The small white flowers appear in summer, followed by the red berries that are the real treat, and I ought to know because I have eaten enough of them.  The taste is like Teaberry gum and unlike any other berry I have ever even imagined.  I am so glad I had Mr. Reed's book to clue me in.

Gaultheria procumbens grows in moist, well-drained and acid soil from four to six inches tall.  It spreads by rhizomes, but very, very slowly, so those who are squeamish need not fear.  Zones 4-7.  Quarts.  Limited.
Available spring, 2013.