wild wintergreen and forest moss

"Pack a jar loosely with fresh wintergreen leaves (if mostly red are used, tea will be bright pink) and cover it, set it in a warm place for several days until the water is bubbly. Warm the tea by setting it in a pan of hot water. This will be a strong, good-tasting minty tea. The leaves can be strained out and dried slowly in shade, for a second, boiling water-infusion tea that won't be so strong.

Native tribes -- Mohawks, as well as Ojibwes, and others, knew the tea as medicinal as well as a healthful beverage. It contains methyl salycliates, the active painkilllers of asprin, useful for colds, headaches, and to bring down fevers. Still,. such names as "teaberry" emphasize that it was important as a year-round beverage, and as a food flavoring for meat and fish cooked with fermented leaves."

Native American Indian Resources