Pyrola/ˈpɪrələ/[3] is a genus of plants in the family Ericaceae native to the region spanning from the subarctic and temperate northern hemisphere to Guatemala and Sumatra.[2]
Pyrola are erect,[4] chlorophyllous or achlorophyllous,[5] up to 35–44 cm tall herbs or subshrubs with single, glabrous stems.[4] The long, branched, slender rootstock bears fine roots.[6]
The many-flowered,[6] racemose inflorescence with 1–4 scape bracts bears pedicellate, nodding, campanulate,[4] radially symmetric[5] or slightly zygomorphic flowers.[4] The pendulous, loculicidal capsule fruit bears approximately 1000 winged, spindle-shaped seeds.[5]
Pyrola elliptica, commonly known as "shinleaf", contains a drug related to aspirin, and the leaves have been used to treat bruises. Its common name derives from its use in shin casting.[8]
↑Linné, Carl von, & Salvius, Lars. (1753). Caroli Linnaei ... Species plantarum :exhibentes plantas rite cognitas, ad genera relatas, cum differentiis specificis, nominibus trivialibus, synonymis selectis, locis natalibus, secundum systema sexuale digestas... (Vol. 1, p. 396). Impensis Laurentii Salvii. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/358415
↑Niering, William A.; Olmstead, Nancy C. (1985) [1979]. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers, Eastern Region. Knopf. p.723. ISBN0-394-50432-1.
