BOG WINTERGREEN

(Pyrola uliginosa; P. rotundifolia, var. uliginosa of Gray)

Wintergreen family



Flowers - Magenta pink, fragrant, about 1/2 in. across, 7 to 15

on a leafless scape 6 to 15 in. high. Calyx 5-parted; 5 concave

petals; 10 stamens; style curved upward, exserted. Leaves: From

the root, broadly oval or round, rather thick and dull, on

petioles.

Preferred Habitat - Swamps and bogs.

Flowering Season - June.

Distribution - Nova Scotia to British Columbia, southward to New

York and Colorado.



Fragrant colonies of this little plant cuddled close to the moss

of cool, northern peat bogs draw forth our admiration when we go

orchid hunting in early summer. A similar species, the LIVER-LEAF

WINTERGREEN (P. asarifolia), with shining, not dull, leaves and

rose-colored flowers, not to mention minor differences, is

likewise found in swamps and wet woods. These two wintergreens,

formerly counted mere varieties of the white-flowered

rotundifolia, a lover of dry woods, have now been given specific

individuality by later-day systematists. Short-lipped bees and

flies may be detected in the act of applying their mouths to the

orifices of the anthers through which pollen is shed, and some

must be carried to the stigma of another flower.