Pyrola asarifolia (Pink Pyrola)
Also known as: | Bog Wintergreen |
---|---|
Genus: | Pyrola |
Family: | Ericaceae (Heath) |
Life cycle: | perennial |
Origin: | native |
Habitat: | part shade, shade, sun; dry to wet soil; woods, bogs, swamps, talus slopes, bluffs |
Bloom season: | June - July |
Plant height: | 6 to 12 inches |
Wetland Indicator Status: | GP: FACU MW: FACW NCNE: FACW |
MN county distribution (click map to enlarge): | |
National distribution (click map to enlarge): |
Pick an image for a larger view. See the glossary for icon descriptions.
Detailed Information
Flower:
Raceme of 7 to 15 flowers on slender stalks at the top of the plant. Flowers have 5 roundish petals 1/6 to 3/8 inch (4.8 to 9.1 mm) long, the edges often curled down. Color is pink to purple or white at the base with pink to purple edging; flowers are ½ to ¾ inch across when fully open. A cluster of stamens with dark pink to red tips is hidden under the upper petals. The style is light green, curved down and out below the lower petals like an elephant's trunk. The calyx cupping the flower has 5 lobes that are triangular to egg-shaped, half to nearly as wide as long, less than half as long as the petals. At the base of a flower stalk is a papery bract, oblong to narrowly egg-shaped, usually as long as or longer than the stalk, occasionally shorter.
Leaves and stem:
Leaves are basal, leathery, 1 to ~3 inches (24 to 71 mm) long, round to kidney shaped, often wider than long, the blade typically shorter than the leaf stalk, rounded to blunt at the tip, hairless, toothless or obscurely scalloped around the edges. The upper surface is very shiny. Flowering stems are smooth and may have a few scale-like leaves below the flower cluster.
Fruit:
Fruit is a capsule about 1/6 inch (to 5 mm) long, wider than long, somewhat compressed globular with 5 sections, each containing many seeds.
Notes:
Pink Pyrola is about as prevalent in Minnesota as Shinleaf (Pyrola elliptica). Typically Pink Pyrola is found on moister sites than the other Pyrolas, in swamps and bogs as well as along lake shores and wet meadow woodlines, though occasionally it is found on drier sites. It can't be easily confused with any other Pyrola since it is the only Pink Pyrola in Minnesota, and when not flowering, the shiny round to kidney-shaped leaves should be distinctive enough for a positive ID. There are two recognized subspecies: subsp. bracteata, limited to western North America, has leaves usually egg-shaped to elliptic with sharp tooth-like projections around the edges (dentate); subsp. asarifolia, found throughout Canada and the northern and western US including Minnesota, has leaves elliptic to round to kidney-shaped that are toothless or have minutely scalloped edging.
Native Plant Nurseries, Restoration and Landscaping Services ↓
More photos
- Pink Pyrola plant
- Pink Pyrola plants
- Pink Pyrola in a mesic woods
- Pink Pyrola in a bog
- Pink Pyrola with Wild Strawberry
Photos by K. Chayka taken at Savanna Portage State Park, Aitkin County, and in Cook and Hubbard counties. Photos by Peter M. Dziuk taken in Aitkin and Becker counties.
Comments
Have you seen this plant in Minnesota, or have any other comments about it?
on: 2011-10-03 20:56:56
We own 20 acres in Scambler Township and these sweet little plants are all over. I have some incredible photos. More true pink than your pics, and loaded with waxy flowers. What a delight!
on: 2012-06-15 18:56:35
Along spur from Quarry Trail to the Hell's Gate rapids
on: 2012-06-23 09:33:07
In bloom on June 14 2012.
on: 2016-06-10 09:52:20
Happy to have identified this patch at the edge of the woods.
on: 2017-07-05 14:41:28
Spotted 8-10 plants with lots of flowers. At first I thought it was just a color variation of shinleaf, so glad to ID it on your site as a separate species. Thanks!
on: 2019-07-05 10:41:45
Beautiful first time seeing it thanks to this site for helping me identify
on: 2019-07-16 12:40:25
So pretty - several plants at the end of our road
on: 2021-06-25 18:25:30
Several patches of this aka Bog Wintergreen on Tamarac Refuge. Often blooming next to yellow and showy lady slippers.