Shinleaf

(Pyrola elliptica)

 

   

 

 

Color Photographs: Copyright Nearctica.com, Inc.

Line Drawing: Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada, Second Edition.

 

Shinleaf (Pyrola elliptica Nutt.)

Identification: Flowers greenish-white, nodding, with 5 petals. Petals with greenish veins. Pistil long and curved. Flowers arranged in a terminal spike. Leaves in a basal rosette. Leaves large (1.5 to 3 inches in length), paddle-shaped, with the apex rounded, not pointed. Petiole shorter or equal to the length of the leaf body. Plant 5 to 10 inches in height.

Distribution: Across Canada, southward to Illinois and North Carolina. Also southward in the Rocky Mountains to New Mexico.

Habitat: Shinleaf is a forest species, particularly cold woods.

Flowering period: June to August.

Similar Species: The leaves are much larger than those of Greenish-flowered Pyrola and Lesser Pyrola (1.5 inches or less in length). Round-leaved Pyrola is similar in morphology and size. However the flowers of Round-leaved Pyrola are white, not greenish-white. The leaf petioles are longer than the body of the leaf.

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