If the state of the world has left a bad taste in your mouth, a stroll through Provincetown’s Beech Forest can be a palate cleanser. Clear your mind on the tranquil one-mile loop with a whiff of Gaultheria procumbens, or wintergreen, which grows trailside. Native to Cape Cod, wintergreen rises only inches off the ground and creeps by rhizomes to form an attractive evergreen ground cover in shady spots — a potential replacement for English ivy in the home garden. You can crush a leaf or berry to identify G. procumbens by its mint-like aroma; the seasoned forager can turn wintergreen into a tea or extract or simply nibble on it mid-hike. The scarlet fruit persists all season, available to a host of stressed creatures in need of some winter refreshment.
