Al Schneider's Rocky Mountains Plant Descriptions

One-sided Wintergreen
Orthilia secunda
Heather family (Ericaceae)

The common name of this small plant is apt and the one-sided flower stalks are distinctive. The plant's leaves remain green through the winter, hence the common family name "Wintergreen." One-sided Pyrola also attracts attention by its habit of growing in large numbers, typically around the base of Engelmann Spruce. The of One-sided Pyrola are easily confused with leaves of Single Delight, but those of the latter plant are almost always nearly circular whereas those of One-sided Pyrola are usually elliptical. One-sided Pyrola is circumboreal, i.e., found throughout much of the northern hemisphere. One-sided Pyrola is recommended by herbalists for gynecological disorders and inflammations. The Greek "ortho" ("straight") refers to the and "secunda" means "side-flowering," i.e., flowers are on one side of the flowering stem.


©2010 Keir Morse

Description

, 2-6" tall. White to pale green urn-shaped flowers, each with projecting , are arranged along one side of bent in a . Leaves thin, elliptical to nearly round, with finely margins. Leaves appear but are on lower stem. are round, 5-chambered with .

Field Marks

White-green urn-shaped flowers arranged on one side of with projecting .

© Al Schneider

An evergreen tree retains a large portion of its green leaves all year.

style -- This is a long and thread-like structure that connects the stigma with the ovary. A flower may have a single style, or several of them.

A perennial plant lives and blooms for many years.

A herb is a plant whose stems die back to the ground in the winter.

capsule -- a type of simple, dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. In most cases the capsule splits apart to release seeds.

persistent -- When the leaves of a plant fail to fall off in the fall they are persistent. Flowers that stay around after fruiting would be persistent.

basal -- at the base, situated or attached at the base.

Like the teeth on a saw, leaves and other surfaces can have toothed edges.

fruit -- any seed-bearing structure in flowering plants. It is formed from the ovary after flowering.

stalk -- The supporting structure of an organ. Examples of stalks are stem, peduncle, petiole, ...

basal leaves -- a leaf that grows lowest on the stem of a plant.

A raceme is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along its axis.

alternate -- leaves alternate along the main stem and are attached singly.