Pyrola minor
L.
Common Wintergreen, Lesser wintergreen
(c) Иван Матершев, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Иван Матершев
(c) Dina Nesterkova, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
What to Eat
Edible parts: Leaves, Fruit
The fruit is edible, though no further details are recorded. The leaves can be eaten raw.
Where to Find It
It is a temperate plant. It grows in cool temperate and sub-arctic zones. It grows in sub-alpine deciduous broad-leaved forests between 500-2500 m altitude. It grows in acid soils and on sand dunes.
Asia, Australia, Britain, Canada, China, Europe, Georgia, Himalayas, Iceland, Ireland, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, North Korea, North America, Manchuria, Mongolia, Russia, Tibet, USA,
How to Identify
A herb. It keeps growing from year to year and is evergreen. The rhizome or underground stem is slender and 0.5-1 mm thick. The leaf blade is green on top and pale green underneath. The flowers droop. There are 7-16 flowers in a group. The flowers are white. The fruit is a capsule which hangs down. It is 4-6 mm across. It has many very small seeds.
How to Grow
Prefers a moist sandy woodland soil in a cool position with partial shade. This is a very ornamental but difficult plant to grow. It requires a mycorrhizal relationship in the soil and therefore needs to be grown initially in soil collected from around an established plant. It is also very difficult from seed as well as being intolerant of root disturbance which makes division difficult. The flowers have a soft almond scent.
Propagation: This species is difficult from seed and germinates infrequently. Sow seed as soon as it is ripe if possible, into soil collected from around an established plant, barely covering the seed, and place the pot in a shady part of a cold frame. Pot up seedlings as soon as they are large enough to handle, again using soil from around an established plant. Plant out when large enough; soil from the pot should carry the necessary mycorrhiza so additional collected soil is not needed at that stage. Division can be attempted with great care in spring. Pot up divisions using soil from around an established plant, grow on in a lightly shaded greenhouse or frame, and do not plant out until the divisions are growing vigorously.
Medicinal Uses
The plant is antispasmodic, astringent, diuretic, and tonic.
Other Uses
None known.
Wikipedia
Source ↗Pyrola minor, known by the common names snowline wintergreen, lesser wintergreen, and common wintergreen, is a plant species of the genus Pyrola. It is a perennial herb or subshrub growing up to 1 ft (0.30 m) tall. It has a Circumboreal distribution and can be found throughout the northern latitudes of Eurasia and North America. It grows in moist areas. Flowers bloom June to August. The plant is mostly self-pollinating; it does not even bother to attract pollinators with the scent of its flowers or by secreting nectar.
Notes
There are about 30-40 Pyrola species. They are temperate. Also put in the family Pyrolaceae.
Names & Synonyms
References (8)
- Bodkin, F., 1991, Encyclopedia Botanica. Cornstalk publishing, p 857
- Cormack, R. G. H., 1967, Wild Flowers of Alberta. Commercial Printers Edmonton, Canada. p 235
- Irving, M., 2009, The Forager Handbook, A Guide to the Edible Plants of Britain. Ebury Press p 307
- Mabey, R., 1973, Food for Free. A Guide to the edible wild plants of Britain, Collins. p 87
- Morley, B. & Everard, B., 1970, Wild Flowers of the World. Ebury press. Plate 161
- Plants for a Future database, The Field, Penpol, Lostwithiel, Cornwall, PL22 0NG, UK. http://www.scs.leeds.ac.uk/pfaf/
- Porsild, A.E., 1974, Rocky Mountain Wild Flowers. Natural History Series No. 2 National Museums of Canada. p 300
- Urgamal, M., Oyuntsetseg, B., Nyambayar, D. & Dulamsuren, Ch. 2014. Conspectus of the vascular plants of Mongolia. (Editors: Sanchir, Ch. & Jamsran, Ts.). Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. “Admon“ Press. 334pp. (p. 79-90).
