224 PYROLACE.E. 



Order LXXIV. PYROLACE^.— Wintergreens. 



Sepals 5, persistent. Corolla regular, deciduous, 4 — o-parted. 

 Stamens twice as numerous as the divisions of the corolla ; an- 

 thers 2-celled, opening by pores. Ovary superior, 4 — 5-celled ; 

 style 1 ; stigma indusiate. Fruit capsular, 4 — 5-celled. Seeds 

 many, minute, winged. — Herbaceous plants, rarely under shrubs, 

 with simple leaves. 



• 1. PYROLA. Linn.- — Wintergreen. 

 (A diminutive of the Latin pyrus, a pear ; from the resemblance of its leaves.^ 

 Calyx minute, 5-cleft or 5-parted. Petals 5. Stamens 10, 

 slightly united at base. Anthers opening by 2 pores at base. 

 Stigma 5-lobed. Capsule 5-celled. 



* Flowers in racemes. Sutures of the capsules wooUy. 

 •\ Stamens ascending. Style declined. Stigma annulate. 



1. P. rotundifolia Linn. : leaves roundish, entire or slightly crenulate, 

 coriaceous and shining, scarcely as long as the dilated petiole ; scape many- 

 flowered, bracteate ; calyx 5-parted, the segments ovate-lanceolate ; stigma 

 obtusely 5-toothed. 



var. a^arifolia H.o.v. : leaves larger, renLorm-roundish. P. asarifolia 

 Mich. 



Woods. Can. to Car. W. to Mich. July. %— Leaves all radical, 1^—2 

 inches in diameter, on petioles as long or longer. Scape 8 — 12 inches high. 

 Flowers nodding, white, fragrant, 8 — 20 in a raceme. The largest of the species. 



Round-leaved Wintergreen. 



2. P. chlorantha Swartz : leaves orbicular, retuse, obsoletely crenulate, 

 half as long as the narrow petiole ; scape nearly naked ; raceme few- 

 •flowered ; segments of the calyx very short, obtuse ; stigma with the disk 

 5-lobed. 



Woods. Can. and N. Y. June. "U. — Leaves about an inch long, varying 

 from orbicular to broad-obovate. Scape 6—8 inches high. Flovjers 5 — 8 in a 

 raceme, greenish-white, odorous. Greenish-flowered Wintergreen. 



3. P. elliptica Nutt. : leaves elliptic-ovate, membranaceous, serrulate, 

 Itnger than the dilated petiole ; scape naked or^with a single subulate bract ; 

 calyx 5-cleft, very short, the segments ovate ; stigma clavate, 5-lobed. 



Dry woods. Can. to Virg. July. '2|-, — Leaves all radical, membranaceous, 

 finely serrate, with an attenuated base, much longer than the petiole. Scape 

 6 — 10 inches high, about 5-angled. Flowers 8 — 12 in a raceme, greenish-white, 

 fragrant. Distinguished from P. rotundifolia, by its longer, thin and dull leaves, 

 and shorter calyx. Thin Leaf. 



4. P. uliginosa Torr. <f« Gr. : leaves nearly orbicular, obscurely crenate- 

 denticulate, coriaceous, longer than the petiole ; scape bracteate ; raceme 

 many-flowered ; calyx one- fourth as long as the petals ; the segments broad- 

 ovate, acute ; stigma with 5 small erect teeth. 



