878 PYROLACEAE 



cent beneath, at least on the nerves, short-petioled : racemes 5-20 cm. long, usually simple, 

 densely pubescent : pedicels 3-8 mm. long : flowers secund : sepals ovate, 3.5-4 mm. long, 

 acute, strongly ribbed : petals erect, cuneate, 6-7 mm. long, notched at the apex : fila- 

 ments villous : style glabrous : capsule ovoid, 5 mm. long, drooping. 



On cliffs and in mountain woods, Virginia to West Virginia, Georgia and Alabama. Summer. 



FAMILY 2. PYROLACEAE Agardh. WINTERGREEN FAMILY. 



Perennial mostly evergreen herbs, with elongated branching rootstocks. 

 Leaves basal, or approximate on the short stems or branches : blades thickish, 

 entire or toothed. Flowers perfect, often slightly irregular, solitary or in 

 terminal racemes or corymbs. Calyx of 4-5 persistent sepals. Corolla often 

 white or pink, of 4-5 distinct or slightly united wax-like petals. Androecium 

 of twice as many stamens as there are petals. Filaments often subulate. Anthers 

 introrse, becoming inverted in anthesis : sacs opening by pores or slits. Pollen 

 grains in 4's. Gynoecium of 4-5 united carpels. Ovary superior, 4-5-celled. 

 Styles united, sometimes declined. Stigma 5-lobed. Ovules very numerous, 

 anatropous. Fruit a 4-5-celled loculicidally valved capsule. Seeds minute, 

 numerous. Testa loosely fitting the very slightly differentiated embryo. 

 Flowers in racemes : style elongated : capsules opening from base to top , the valves cobwebby. 



1. PYROLA. 

 Flowers solitary or in corymbs : style short, covered by the stigma : capsules opening 



from top to base, the valves glabrous. 2. CHIMAPHILA. 



1. PYROLA L. 



Low scapose often stoloniferous herbs. Leaves mainly basal, persistent : blades 

 often leathery and lustrous, entire or finely toothed. Flowers wax-like, nodding or 

 ascending, short-pedicelled. Sepals spreading. Corolla deciduous : petals 5, concave. 

 Stamens 10, declined or converging : filaments glabrous. Anthers erect in the bud, 

 mostly inverted in anthesis : sacs usually beaked at the base, opening apparently by 

 apical pores. Ovary 5-celled. Capsule 5-celled, 5-lobed, loculicidally 5-valved, often 

 nodding ; valves opening from the base, with cobwebby margins. Seeds very numerous. 



WlNTERGE, EEN. 



Leaf-blades about as long as broad, leathery, mainly shorter than the petiole*. 1. P. rotundifolia. 



Leaf-blades longer than broad, membranous, longer than the petioles. 2. P. elliptica. 



1. Pyrola rotundifolia L. Dark green. Leaves basal ; blades leathery, suborbicu- 

 lar, 2-5 cm. in diameter, obtuse or rounded at both ends, veiny, on 3-sided red petioles 

 (the inner side channeled), which usually exceed the blade in length: scapes erect, 2-3 

 dm. tall, 3-angled, furnished with a few scales : racemes 3-10 cm. long : flowers wax-like, 

 on spreading or reflexed pedicels which are less than 1 cm. long, and subtended by linear- 

 lanceolate acute bracts : sepals ovate to triangular, acute, with narrow white margins : 

 corolla 1.5 cm. broad : petals concave, obovate, 8-9 mm. long, obtuse : stamens bent back : 

 style strongly declined : capsules depressed, 6-7 mm. broad. 



In dry woods, Nova Scotia to Minnesota, south in the mountains to Georgia, and Ohio. Summer. 



2. Pyrola elliptica Nutt. Deep green. Leaves basal ; blades thinnish, elliptic- 

 oval or oblong, 3-9 cm. long, usually mucronulate, crenate with low teeth, narrowed into 

 petioles which are shorter than the blades : scapes erect, 1-3 dm. tall, simple : racemes 

 6-16-flowered : pedicels as long as the subtending bracts or longer : sepals triangular or 

 ovate-triangular, acute or acuminate, about as long as the tube : corolla about 1.5 cm. 

 broad : petals oblong-cuneate, obtuse or truncate : anthers scarcely beaked : style declined, 

 exserted : capsule depressed-globose, about 6 mm. in diameter. 



In rich soil, Nova Scotia to British Columbia, south to the District of Columbia, Tennessee and 

 New Mexico. Summer. SHIN-LEAF. 



2. CHIMAPHILA Pursh. 



Low almost scapose perennial herbs. Leaves persistent, approximate : blades leathery, 

 sometimes variegated. Flowers perfect, in terminal corymbs. Pedicels commonly with 

 small bracts. Sepals 5, persistent. Corolla white or pink, wax-like : petals 5, broad, con- 

 cave, sessile. Stamens 10. Filaments often slightly pubescent. Anther-sacs opening by 

 pores at the apices of the basal (then erect) beaks. Ovary 5-celled. Capsule 5-lobed, 



