PYROLA FAMILY. Pyrolaceae. 



are slightly fragrant. 4-9 inches high. But 3-9 flowers. 

 Woods, Me., south to Md., west to Minn., and Col. 

 Shinleaf Perhaps the commonest of all the Py- 



Pyrolu elliptica rolas, rather taller than P. cMorantha, 

 Greenish white with evergreen, dark olive green, ellipti- 

 June July ca ^ thin, and obscurely shallow-toothed 



leaves, the stalks somewhat flat or troughed ; they ex- 

 ceed their stalks in length. The greenish white waxy 

 flowers.nod ; they are very fragrant ; the five petals are 

 thin and obovate, and form a protective cup about the pale 

 ochre yellow anthers ; the pistil is extremely long, bends 

 downward and then curves upward, exposing the tiny 

 five-lobed stigma to the visiting insect which is most 

 likely to alight upon the invitingly exposed pistil. The 

 flowers form a loose cluster, each on a ruddy pedicel 

 (stemlet), and are borne on an upright stalk generally 

 ruddy at the base, and having a tiny leaflet or bract 

 half-way up. Commonly visited by the beelike flies 

 (Syrphidce), and the bees of the genera Halictus and 

 Andrena. 5-10 inches high. Rich woods, from Me., 

 south to Md., and west to S. Dak. and 111. The name is 

 from Pyrus or Pimm, a pear, in allusion to the shape of 

 the leaf. 



A similar but much taller species, with 

 P"ola" * nearly round or very broad oval leaves, 



Pyrola thick, very indistinctly toothed or tooth- 



rotundifolia less, and a deep shining green ; the stems 

 White usually longer than the leaves, and nar- 



rowly margined ; they are evergreen. 

 The white waxy flowers are like those described above, 

 but the roundish obovate petals spread open much more : 

 they are also very sweet-scented. 8-18 inches high. In 

 dry or damp sandy woodlands, from Ale. , south to Ga. , 

 and west to Minn., S. Dak., and Ohio. 



This similar species has pale crimson or 

 magenta flowers, and very round heart- 

 shaped leaves, rather wide, shining, and 

 thick. The southern limit, northern N. Y.' and New 

 Eng. But both species are more frequently found 

 northward. 



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