shinleaf

(Pyrola elliptica)

Conservation Status

IUCN Red List

not listed

NatureServe

NNR - Unranked

SNR - Unranked

Minnesota

not listed

Wetland Indicator Status

Great Plains

UPL - Obligate upland

Midwest

FACU - Facultative upland

Northcentral & Northeast

FACU - Facultative upland

 
shinleaf
 
 
Description

Shinleaf, often called eliptic shinleaf, is a low growing, perennial forb that rises on a single stem from a horizontal underground stem (rhizome). It occurs across northern United States and southern Canada, and in Arizona and New Mexico. It is common in Minnesota. It grows in acidic, nutrient-poor, well-drained soil in moist areas of upland forests and woodlands.

The stem is 4¼ to 10½ tall, erect, hairless and unbranched.

The leaves are ½ to 3 long and 7 16 to 2¼ wide. They are alternate but are clustered at the base of the stem and appear almost basal. They are on ½ to 1 9 16 (12 to 40 mm) long leaf stalks (petioles). The petioles are hairless, channeled above, and as long or slightly shorter than the leaf blade. The leaf blades are broadly oval, widest in the middle and narrowing to both ends (elliptic), sometimes with nearly parallel sides (oblong). They are narrowly angled or tapered at the base and broadly pointed or rounded at the tip. The upper surface is dark green, shiny or dull, and hairless. The veins are not whitened. The lower surface is light green, dull, and hairless. The margins have tiny, inconspicuous teeth.

The inflorescence is an unbranched cluster (raceme) of usually 3 to 14 flowers, sometimes up to 21 flowers. Each flower hangs downward on a hairless, to 5 16 (3 to 8 mm) long flower stalk (pedicel). There is often no modified leaf (bract) at the base of the pedicel. Sometimes there are 1 or 2 bracts, rarely up to 4 bracts, subtending the pedicel. When present, the bracts are awl-shaped or narrowly lance-shaped and usually shorter than the pedicel that it subtends.

The flowers are ¼ to wide and broadly bell-shaped. There are 5 sepals, 5 petals, 10 stamens, and 1 style. The sepals are triangular, very short, and fused at the base. They are green or pinkish with thin, translucent (membranous) margins. The petals are white to greenish-white, inversely egg-shaped (widest at the tip), ¼ to (6 to 10 mm) long, and to ¼ (3 to 5.5 mm) wide. The stamens have white, to ¼ (4 to 6 mm) long stalks (filaments) and orange anthers. The style is pale green, 3 16 to ¼ (5 to 7 mm) long, curved, and conspicuously protrudes below the corolla.

The fruit is a flattened globe-shaped, to 3 16 (3 to 5 mm) long, to ¼ (3.3 to 6.6 mm) wide seed capsule. The sepals and style persist with the fruit.

 

Height

4¼ to 10½

 

Flower Color

White

 

Similar Species

 
Habitat

Dry. Upland forests and woodlands. Acidic, nutrient poor, well-drained soil. Dappled sunlight.

Ecology

Flowering

June to August

 

Pests and Diseases

 

Use

 

Distribution

Distribution Map

 

Sources

2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 24, 28, 29, 30.

6/3/2025    
     

Nativity

Native

     

Occurrence

Common and widespread

Taxonomy

Kingdom

Plantae (green algae and land plants)

Subkingdom

Viridiplantae (green plants)

Infrakingdom

Streptophyta (land plants and green algae)

Superdivision

Embryophyta (land plants)

Division

Tracheophyta (vascular plants)

Subdivision

Spermatophytina (seed plants) / Angiospermae (flowering plants)

Class

Magnoliopsida (flowering plants)

Superorder

Asteranae

Order

Ericales (heathers, balsams, primroses, and allies)

Family

Ericaceae (heath)

Subfamily

Pyroloideae/Monotropoideae

Tribe

Pyroleae

Genus

Pyrola (wintergreens)

   

Subfamily
Some authorities, including GRIN, Catalogue of Life, and iNaturalist, place the tribe Pyroleae in the subfamily Monotropoideae. Others, including World Flora Online, Angiosperm Phylogeny Website, and NCBI, place it in the subfamily Pyroloideae.

Family
The genus Pyrola was formerly placed in the family Pyrolaceae. In 2002, Pyrolaceae and four other families were placed in the heath family (Ericaceae).

   

Subordinate Taxa

 

   

Synonyms

Pyrola compacta

Pyrola hybrida

Pyrola maximowicziana

Pyrola reticulata

Pyrola rotundifolia

Thelaia elliptica

   

Common Names

elliptic shin-leaf

elliptic shinleaf

large-leaved shineleaf

shinleaf

waxflower shinleaf

wild lily-of-the-valley

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glossary

Bract

Modified leaf at the base of a flower stalk, flower cluster, or inflorescence.

 

Filament

On plants: The thread-like stalk of a stamen which supports the anther. On Lepidoptera: One of a pair of long, thin, fleshy extensions extending from the thorax, and sometimes also from the abdomen, of a caterpillar.

 

Pedicel

On plants: the stalk of a single flower in a cluster of flowers. On insects: the second segment of the antennae. On Hymenoptera and Araneae: the narrow stalk connecting the thorax to the abdomen: the preferred term is petiole.

 

Petiole

On plants: The stalk of a leaf blade or a compound leaf that attaches it to the stem. On ants and wasps: The constricted first one or two segments of the rear part of the body.

 

Raceme

An unbranched, elongated inflorescence with stalked flowers. The flowers mature from the bottom up.

 

Rhizome

A horizontal, usually underground stem. It serves as a reproductive structure, producing roots below and shoots above at the nodes.

 

Sepal

An outer floral leaf, usually green but sometimes colored, at the base of a flower

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Luciearl

shinleaf   shinleaf
     
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Camera

Slideshows

Shinleaf
Andree Reno Sanborn

Shinleaf
About

Pyrola elliptica

 

slideshow

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Other Videos

MyNature Apps; Identifying Shinleaf, Pyrola elliptica
MyNatureApps

About

Aug 5, 2011

How to identify Shinleaf, Pyrola elliptica also known as White Wintergreen. www.mynatureapps.com

 

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Luciearl
7/10/2021

Location: Cass County

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Created: 10/13/2019

Last Updated:

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