The BRITISH HERBAL. 
GENUS XXIV. 
\V I N T E R G R E E N. 
P r R O L A. 
'T^HE flower confifts of a Tingle petal divided to the bottom into five or more fcgments ; there Is 
no tubular part, but thefe relembling ib many diltind petals, join only at tiie bafcs : the fruit 
is a fingle capfule after every liower ; this is roundifli, deprelfed, and flighrly marked with ridges: 
the cup is very fmall, it is divided into live fegments, and remains with the capfule. 
LinnsEus places this among his decmidria monogyma, the threads in the centre of the flower being 
ten, and the ftyle rifmg from the rudiment of the fruit fingle ; but he feparates fome of the fpecies. 
DIVISION I. BRITIS.H SPECIES. 
I. Round-leaved Wintergreen. 
Pyrola foUis rotundis. 
The root is long, flender, and furniflied with 
numerous fibres. 
The leaves rife in a duller, and are very Angu- 
lar and pretty : they have long, flender footftallcs, 
and are of a roundifli figure, fomewhat approach- 
ing to oval, of a thick fubfl:ance, and a frefli 
green colour : they are perfeftly fmooth, and di- 
vided at the edges : they in fome degree refemble 
the leaves of thepeartree, but arc fmaller, and 
hence the genus had its Latin name, this being 
the firfl: known kind; and that name is continued 
to the others, though their leaves have nothing of 
that form. 
In the centre uF this tuft of leaves rifes a fingle 
ftalk : this is round, firm, upright, and cen inciicb 
high: it has no leaves on it, except a few narrow 
membranes be called by that name ; and at its 
top fullains a fpike of flowers. 
Thefe are large, white, and very beautiful : 
they have numerous threads in the centre, and a 
long point, which is the ftyle, rifes among them. 
The fecd-vefl*el is large, and the feeds are nu- 
merous and fmall. 
It is not unfrequent in the woods of our nor- 
thern counties, and flowers in Auguft:. We meet 
with it fometimes in thofe parts of boggy heaths 
which are deep covered with mofs. 
C. Bauhine czlh'it Pyrda major. Others, Pyrola. 
Our name of •wintergreen is given it from the 
frcfli appearance of the leaves at the moft dead 
fealbns of the year, but it is a very indeterminate 
one, and has led to errors and contufion. The late 
lord Petre, defirous to have this plant, wrote into 
Yorkfliire for its feeds, and received what were 
called fuch ; they were nurfcd with great care, 
and produced wintcrcrefs Barbarea. Suchjudges 
are gardeners ot the Englifli plants 1 
This fpecies is greatly recommended as a vul- 
nerary. They ufe it in Germany in all their 
wound-drinks, and in many of their ointments 
and plaifliers. With us the better knowledge of 
chirurgery has put thefe vulnerary plants much 
out of ctfe. 
2. Leflrr Wintergreiin. 
Pyrola minor. 
The root is fmall., long, and furniflied with 
many Hbres. 
'i'he leaves rife twenty or more- together, and 
IX. 
are placed on fiiort and flender footftalks : they 
are broad, of a roundifli figure, and notched 
lightly on the edges. 
The ftalk is upright, round, and eight inches 
high, and toward the top it divides into fevcral 
branches. 
The flowers are large and white, and they 
ftand in clufters upon all the branches : they have 
a tuft of threads in the centre, as the other ; but 
in that they lean, in this they ftand upright, and 
the middle point or ftyle is fliort, not long and 
prominent as in that fpecies. 
The feed-veflTcl is large, and the feeds are very 
numerous and very minute. 
It is common in the northern parts of Eng- 
land, and flowers in July. 
Rivinus calls it Pyrola 'minor. Others, Pyrola 
Hiaminibus re£lis. 
3. 'l ender Wiiucigiccn. 
Pyrola folio mucronato /errata. 
The root is long, flender and creeping: it runs 
obliquely under the furface, and fends out at fmall 
diftances tufts of fibres. 
The firft leaves, which rife in numerous clufl:ers 
from difi^erent parts of the root, are oval : they 
fl:and on fliort, flender footftalks, and are of a 
deep green, and not at all ferrated. 
Among thefe rife theftalks: they are round, 
flender, weak, and but ill fupport themfelves in 
their hight, which is about a foot. 
On the lower part of thefe there are fome of 
thofe ftiort, narrow, membranaceous leaves that are 
on the common wintergreen ftalk ; but befldes thefe, 
there arc numerous other large and proper leaves. 
The flowers grow at the top, and are large 
and white : they ftand only on one fide of the 
ftalk when the plant is but moderately nourifli- 
ed, but when the root fpreads in a rich, free foil, 
they are more numerous, and ftand on both fides. 
It is a native of the north of England, but not 
common there. 
C. Bauhine calls it Pyrola folio mucronato ferr at 0. 
Clufius, Pyrola fecunda tencrior ; and his name is 
generaUy adopted by other writers. 
4. Chick weed- flowered Wintergreen. 
Pyrola alfmes flore Europ^a. 
The root is compofed of numerous threads 
conneiled to a fmall head. 
The firft leaves are few and fmall : they are 
2 Ihorr, 
