Common Wintergreen, Lesser wintergreen
Pyrola minor

Family: Ericaceae

What it is like

A herb. It keeps growing from year to year and is evergreen. The rhizome or underground stem is slender and 0.5-1 mm thick. The leaf blade is green on top and pale green underneath. The flowers droop. There are 7-16 flowers in a group. The flowers are white. The fruit is a capsule which hangs down. It is 4-6 mm across. It has many very small seeds.

There are about 30-40 Pyrola species. They are temperate. Also put in the family Pyrolaceae.

Where it is found

It is a temperate plant. It grows in cool temperate and sub-arctic zones. It grows in sub-alpine deciduous broad-leaved forests between 500-2500 m altitude. It grows in acid soils and on sand dunes.

Countries/locations it is found in

Asia, Australia, Britain, Canada, China, Europe, Georgia, Himalayas, Iceland, Ireland, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, North Korea, North America, Manchuria, Mongolia, Russia, Tibet, USA

How it is used for food

The leaves are used sparingly in salads.

Edible parts

Leaves, fruit

How it is grown

Its other names

Local names

Synonyms

Amelia minor (Linnaeus) Alefeld; Braxilia minor (Linnaeus) House; Erxlebenia minor (Linnaeus) Rydberg; Braxilia parvifolia Raf.; Erxlebenia rosea Opiz; Pyrola minor var. conferta Cham. & Schltdl.