Gaultheria shallon, also known as salal, is one of the most common understory plants found in forests from Alaska to Northern California. It is an adaptable plant, growing in sun or shade and in any type of soil. In sunny, coastal areas it may form an impenetrable thicket up to 6 feet tall. As an understory plant in evergreen and deciduous forests, it grows much shorter. This is a great shrub for use along coastal banks for soil stabilization. In a more cultivated setting, it is best planted where its perimeter can be mowed around to contain its spread. In the Buck Lake Native Plant Garden, it is planted near the huge Douglas fir in the middle of the garden.

The shiny, dark green leaves of salal are prized by commercial florists. Hummingbirds are drawn to its pink, urn-shaped flowers in the spring. The late summer fruit, a dark, juicy berry, is eaten by birds, deer and bear. Dense thickets of salal are habitat for both birds and small mammals.

Native American people harvested the fruit and consumed it both fresh and dried. They also chewed the leaves as an appetite suppressant.