Linnaea borealis L.
Twinflower
Twinflower is found throughout the northern hemisphere. In fact, the scientific name borealis means northern.
Plants: Plants are evergreen, essentially a micro-shrub. They keep a very low profile, less than 4″ (10 cm), up to about 6″ (15 cm) when in flower, so they are easy to miss. They are evergreen. Fine hairy red-brown stems creep along the ground, rooting to start new plants.
Leaves: Opposite, shiny, oval, and unlobed. Larger leaves have a few small indentations along the edge. Leaves are ¼–⅝ ⨉ ¼–⅝″ (8.4–16 ⨉ 6.3–16 mm).
Flowers: Delicate pink funnel-shaped flowers top small, hairy stems, from which they hang like bells. Flowers occur in pairs, hence the name “twinflower.” Each flower is up to ½″ (1.3 cm) long, with five lobes and a hairy throat. They have a mild fragrance. Flowers appear from June to September.
Fruits: Small, dry, 3-celled pod with one seed.
Habitats: Cool, dark forests, alpine zones, woodlands, and boggy or rocky shorelines
Online References:
Wikimedia Commons (Photos)
5/15/2010 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Massachusetts · ≈ 6 × 4½″ (15 × 11 cm) 
6/9/2016 · Monhegan Island, Maine 
5/15/2010 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Massachusetts · ≈ 4 × 3″ (10 × 7.9 cm) 
6/10/2021 · Otter Brrok Preserve, Harpswell Heritage Land Trust, Harpswell, Maine · ≈ 7 × 4½″ (16 × 11 cm) 
6/10/2021 · Otter Brrok Preserve, Harpswell Heritage Land Trust, Harpswell, Maine · ≈ 7 × 4½″ (16 × 11 cm) 
6/9/2016 · Monhegan Island, Maine 
5/7/2023 · Otter Brrok Preserve, Harpswell Heritage Land Trust, Harpswell, Maine 
6/16/2023 · Ovens Mouth West, White Trail, Boothbay Harbor, Maine 
6/3/2021 · Widgeon Cove, Harpswell, Maine · ≈ 2½ × 2½″ (6.8 × 6.3 cm) 
6/9/2016 · Monhegan Island, Maine 
6/9/2016 · Monhegan Island, Maine 
6/10/2021 · Otter Brrok Preserve, Harpswell Heritage Land Trust, Harpswell, Maine · ≈ 3½ × 2½″ (9.4 × 6.3 cm) 
If you were Lilliputian, perhaps an inch tall, twinflowers would look like this. · 6/10/2021 · Otter Brrok Preserve, Harpswell Heritage Land Trust, Harpswell, Maine · ≈ 4½ × 3″ (11 × 7.5 cm) 
6/10/2021 · Otter Brrok Preserve, Harpswell Heritage Land Trust, Harpswell, Maine · ≈ 5 × 4″ (13 × 10 cm) 
6/10/2021 · Otter Brrok Preserve, Harpswell Heritage Land Trust, Harpswell, Maine · ≈ 7 × 4½″ (17 × 11 cm) 
6/10/2021 · Otter Brrok Preserve, Harpswell Heritage Land Trust, Harpswell, Maine · ≈ 8 × 5″ (20 × 13 cm) 
6/24/2024 · Otter Brrok Preserve, Harpswell Heritage Land Trust, Harpswell, Maine · ≈ 2½ × 3″ (7.1 × 8.2 cm) 
6/9/2016 · Monhegan Island, Maine 
6/3/2021 · Widgeon Cove, Harpswell, Maine · ≈ 6 × 4″ (15 × 10 cm) 
9/18/2016 · Barred Island Preserve, Deer Isle, Maine 
6/9/2016 · Monhegan Island, Maine 
| Kingdom | Plantae | Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin) |
| Subkingdom | Tracheobionta | Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients |
| Division | Magnoliophyta | Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms |
| Class | Magnoliopsida | Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves |
| Subclass | Asteridae | A large class that encompasses asters |
| Order | Dipsacales | Includes viburnum, honeysuckle, snowberry, beautybush, twinflower, many others |
| Family | Linnaeaceae | 30 species of shrubs and herbs native to the temperate regions of Southeast Asia and North America |
| Genus | Linnaea | Named for Carolus Linnaeus (1707-1778), founder of the modern system of binomial nomenclature |
| Species | borealis | Northern |
Linnaea borealis description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.
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