Chimaphila. ERICACEAE. 455 



13. CHIMAPHILA. Pursh, fl. 1. p 300 ; Endl. gen. iS'lB. cbimapbila. 



[ From the Greek, chcima, winter, and phiko, to love; in allusion (o the English name, Winlergreen.] 



Calyx 5-cleft. Petals 5, concave, spreading. Stamens 10; the filaments dilated in the 

 middle, hairy or ciliate : anthers with two pores at the base, inverted after flowering; the 

 lobes one-celled. Ovary obtusely 5-angled, 5-celled : style very short, immersed in a 

 depression of the ovary : stigma orbicular, peltate, obscurely 5-lobed. — Low suffruticose 

 plants. Leaves at the summit of the stem, evergreen, coriaceous, lanceolate, serrate. 

 Peduncle terminal, bearing several flowers in an imperfect umbel or corymb. Petals white, 

 tinged with purple. 



1 . Chimaphila umbellata, JVutt. Fipsisseiva. Princes Pine. 



Leaves cuneate-lanceolate, acute at the base, uniformly green ; flowers in an umbellate 

 corymb ; filaments ciliate on the margin, smooth on each face. — Nutt. gen. 1. p. 274 ; Bart, 

 ves'. ma,t. med. 1.^1; Hook. ft. Bar. -Am. 2. p. 49 ; DC. prodr. 7. p. 775. C. corymbosa, 

 Pursh, Jl. 1 p. 300. Pyrola umbellata, Linn. sp. 1. p. 396 ; Lam. ill. t. 367. f. 2 ; Bat. 

 mag. t. 778 ; Mickx. f. 1. p. 251 ; Bigel. Jl. Bost. p. 174, and med. hot. t. 2\ ; Torr.fl. 1. 

 p. 435 ; Beck, hot. p. 227 ; Darlingt. Jl. Cest. p. 2G6. 



Root long and woody, throwing up leafy and flowering stems at intervals. The stems are 

 ascending, 3-4 inches high, simple or branching at the base. Leaves 1^-2 inciies long, 

 often in 2 - 3 imperfect whorls, smooth and shining, rather acute, sharply serrate. Peduncle 

 solitary, 3-6 inches long, erect, smooth, bearing 4-6 flowers at the summit ; the pedicels 

 puberulenf, nodding, either distinctly corymbed or somewhat umbellate, erect in fruit. Calyx 

 much smaller than the corolla ; the segments roundish, ciliolate. Petals yellowish white with 

 a tinge of purple, roundish, concave, minutely ciliate. Stamens nearly as long as the petals : 

 filaments roundish-obovate at the base : anthers large, pale violet. Ovary depressed-globose, 

 surrounded at the base with a glandular disk : style very short but distinct, inversely conical, 

 immersed and concealed in the cavity at the top of the ovary : stigma large, convex, very 

 viscid. Capsule depressed, obtusely 5-angled ; the margin of the valves not connected by a 

 web. 



Dry woods ; common. Fl. June. Fr. September. This plant grows also in the north 

 of Europe. It is reputed to possess valuable medicinal qualities, and has long boon used by 

 the Indians as a tonic and diuretic. It is astringent and somewhat aromatic to the taste. The 

 common mode of administering it is in the form of infusion. 



2. Chimaphila maculata, Pursh. (Plate LXX.) Spotted Wintergreen. 

 Leaves ovalc-lanccolatc, obtuse at the base, remotely serrate, variegated ; flowers 2-3, 



umbellate ; dilated base of the fibrtjcnts villous. — Pursh, Jl^ 1 . p. 300 ; Nutt. gen. 1 . p. 275 ; 

 Ell. sk. 1. p. 505 ; Bart. Jl. N. Am, 1. p. 40. (. 1 1 ; Hook. Jl. Bor.-Am. 2. p. 49 ; DC. 



