Snowline Wintergreen Pyrola minor Heather family (Ericaceae)
These delicate woodland plants grow a flower stem from three-to-ten inches tall surmounting the oval-to-round, green . Although the plants have a broad distribution, they are not often noticed because of their slender nature and their habit of growing in the shade. Our other Pyrolas have curved and visible below the petals. Pyrola minor has a very short, straight . This species is circumboreal and both the and species were named by Linnaeus in 1753 from European specimens.
to 10" tall. Leaves with chlorophyll, leathery, , with to about 1 1/2" long and 1" broad, , oval, to almost . from 1/12 to 1" long. usually 5-13-flowered with nodding flowers. Petals pale pink to cream, about 1/5" long. straight, very short, not from the with a relatively distinctive collar below the . a .
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 raceme is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers
having short floral stalks along its axis.
An entire leaf has smooth edges. Not toothed or lobed.
A herb is a plant whose stems die back to the ground in the winter.
corolla -- The name for all the petals of a flower taken together.
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.
crenate leaf margin -- wavy-toothed; dentate with rounded teeth.
capsule -- a type of simple, dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. In
most cases the capsule splits apart to release seeds.
fruit -- any seed-bearing structure in flowering plants.
It is formed from the ovary after flowering.
elliptic -- Oval, with no point or a very short point.
basal leaves -- a leaf that grows lowest on the stem of a plant.
stigma - The tip of a pistil that receives the pollen.
petiole -- the stalk of a leaf.
genus -- A subdivision of a botanical Family in which all members have a significant
number of similar characteristics.
blade -- Just the flat part of a leaf. Not the stem.
