Pyrola rotundifolia

Round-leaved Wintergreen ( Pyrola rotundifolia )

The Round-leaved Wintergreen ( Pyrola rotundifolia ) is a plant belonging to the subfamily of wintergreen and spruce asparagus plants ( Monotropoideae ) in the family Ericaceae ( Ericaceae ).

Features

As the name suggests, the dying leaves of this plant, as with all winter green plants in winter not expire. They are either round and on the base cuneate to rounded ( in the subspecies P. r. Ssp. Maritima ) or ovate and rounded at the base to truncate ( P. r. Ssp. Rotundifolia ), dark green and shiny. Of the Pyrola species, the Round-leaved Wintergreen is one of the larger and more conspicuous. A stalk of the stem axis can be up to 40 inches tall and carry up to 30 allseitswendige flowers. In general, however, the stem is 15 to 30 inches high and has 8 to 15 flowers on. The nodding, open, bell flowers appear mainly in June and July and smell weak. The petals are creamy white with a pink approach and measure six to ten millimeters in length. The linear- lanceolate sepals stand out from the crown. The stylus is six to ten millimeters long, curved S-shaped and is far out from the crown; it is longer than the ovary. The fruits are capsules.

Occurrence

The Round-leaved Wintergreen prefers shady and semi-shady deciduous and coniferous forests or thickets. It grows on acid, base-rich soils.

Root fungus

The roots of Pyrola rotundifolia, as that of the other wintergreen plants also covered tightly with hyphae of fungi. These fungal hyphae weave around the cortical cells of the plant, penetrate into these and they are digested. This represents an intermediate form between endotrophic and ektotropher mycorrhizal Represents the Round-leaved Wintergreen supplied so in addition to water, minerals and proteins, and provides for, inter alia, the fungus carbohydrates. Germination of the seeds, the presence of the fungus is also required.