Pyrola americana (Rounded shinleaf)

FloraFinder uses cookies only for correct operation. More info. Okay

Pyrola americana Sweet

Rounded shinleaf, American wintergreen

Rounded shinleaf is native to North America.

Plants: Leaf clusters are low-lying, only 1½–2″ (4–6 cm) tall, while flower stalks reach up to 1′ (30 cm).

Leaves: Leaves emerge from the base of the plant, in a basal rosette. They are quite round, or sometimes egg-shaped, and shiny, with a vein structure that makes them look pleated or rippled. Leaf edges are very slightly scalloped. Leaves are 1–3″ (2.5–7.6 cm) around. The leaves are so low that they are often overtopped by leaves from surrounding plants.

Flowers: On flower spikes (racemes) with 3 to 22 hanging flowers. Each flower is white, cream-colored, or pink or rarely red, ½–¾″ (1.3–1.9 cm) around, with five round petals. There are 10 yellow or brown-tipped stamens, and a green pistil which extends well beyond the flower.

Fruits: A dry capsule 1/16–⅛″ (3–3.5 mm) around.

Habitats: Moist forests at elevations below 1.3 mi (2.1 km).

Medical: Leaves of plants in this genus contain an aspirin-like compound that has been used to make a poultice to treat bruises and wounds. The poultice, called shinplaster, is the source of the common name “shinleaf.”

Similar species.

Online References:

Wildflowers of the United States

Minnesota Wildflowers

Go Botany

Michiganflora.net

Wikipedia

References:

Clemants, Steven; Gracie, Carol, Wildflowers in the Field and Forest, Oxford University Press, 2006, p. 364

Pyrola asarifolia Michx. ssp. americana (Sweet) Krísa
Pyrola obovata Bertol.
Pyrola rotundifolia auct. non L. p.p.
Pyrola rotundifolia L. var. americana (Sweet) Fernald
Pyrola rotundifolia L. ssp. americana (Sweet) R.T. Clausen
Pyrola rotundifolia L. var. rotundifolia

7/2/2017 · Wildlife Pond, Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Hollis, New Hampshire · ≈ 4 × 4″ (10 × 10 cm)

7/2/2017 · Wildlife Pond, Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Hollis, New Hampshire · ≈ 2½ × 4″ (7.3 × 11 cm)

7/15/2012 · Fort Point State Park, Stockton Springs, Maine · ≈ 6 × 6″ (14 × 16 cm) ID is uncertain

7/15/2012 · Fort Point State Park, Stockton Springs, Maine · ≈ 15 × 10″ (39 × 26 cm) ID is uncertain

7/5/2015 · Jeff Smith Trail, Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Hollis, New Hampshire · ≈ 10 × 12″ (25 × 29 cm)

7/2/2025 · Spirit Pond Preserve, Phippsburg, Maine · ≈ 10 × 6″ (24 × 16 cm)

6/26/2015 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 4½ × 6″ (12 × 15 cm)

6/26/2015 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 5 × 6″ (13 × 15 cm)

6/12/2016 · Beaver Brook Conservation Area,

10/16/2018 · Worcester Road Trail, Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Hollis, New Hampshire, United States

6/12/2016 · Beaver Brook Conservation Area,

7/15/2012 · Fort Point State Park, Stockton Springs, Maine · ≈ 10 × 12″ (26 × 31 cm) ID is uncertain

6/30/2015 · Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Hollis, New Hampshire · ≈ 6 × 8″ (16 × 20 cm)

7/2/2025 · Spirit Pond Preserve, Phippsburg, Maine · ≈ 4 × 4½″ (10 × 12 cm)

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	Ericales	Tea, persimmon, blueberry, Brazil nut, azalea, many others
Family	Pyrolaceae	Includes at least Chimaphila, Moneses, Orthilia, and Pyrola, and sometimes several genera usually placed in the family Monotropaceae
Genus	Pyrola	Pear-like, from the Latin diminutive of Pyrus, meaning “pear,” for the pear-like leaf shape, and a genus commonly called shinleaf or wintergreen
Species	americana	“Of or from America”

About plant names...

Range:

About this map...

Pyrola americana description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.