View source for Pyrola

{{short description|Genus of flowering plants in the heath family Ericaceae}}
{{other uses of|Pirola}}
{{More citations needed|date=September 2017}}
{{Automatic taxobox
|image = DwPinkwintergreen.jpg
|image_caption = ''Pyrola asarifolia''
|taxon = Pyrola
|authority = [[Carl Linnaeus|L.]]
|subdivision_ranks = Species
|subdivision = About 30 species, including: 
*''[[Pyrola americana]]''
*''[[Pyrola asarifolia]]''
*''[[Pyrola chlorantha]]''
*''[[Pyrola crypta]]''
*''[[Pyrola dentata]]''
*''[[Pyrola elliptica]]''
*''[[Pyrola grandiflora]]''
*''[[Pyrola incarnata]]''
*''[[Pyrola media]]''
*''[[Pyrola minor]]''
*''[[Pyrola norvegica]]''
*''[[Pyrola picta]]''
*''[[Pyrola rotundifolia]]''
|synonyms_ref = <ref>[http://www.tropicos.org/Name/40009562  ''Pirola'' Neck. (orth. var. 1770) Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden. 29 Jul 2013]</ref>
|synonyms = ''Pirola'' {{au|[[Noel Martin Joseph de Necker|Neck.]]}}
}}

'''''Pyrola''''' {{IPAc-en|'|p|ɪr|ə|l|ə}}<ref>{{OED|pyrola}}</ref> is a genus of evergreen [[herbaceous]] [[plant]]s in the family [[Ericaceae]]. Under the old Cronquist system it was placed in its own family [[Pyrolaceae]], but genetic research showed it belonged in the family [[Ericaceae]]. The species are commonly known as '''wintergreen''', a name shared with several other related and unrelated plants (see [[wintergreen]] for details). They are native to northern temperate and [[Arctic]] regions.

They are rather small plants with a [[Rosette (botany)|rosette]] of simple orbicular or ovate [[leaf|leaves]], with a [[flower]] stem bearing generally rather lax [[raceme]]s of simple white, cream or pink flowers. The immediate distinguishing feature of ''Pyrola'' species is the flower style which is often curved, sticks out beyond the petals and is expanded below the [[carpel|stigma]] which itself is branched into several [[Lobe (anatomy)|lobes]]. To the casual observer the flower appears to have a small bell-clapper sticking out.

==Distribution==
They are distributed across northern [[temperate]] and [[arctic]] [[Europe]], [[Asia]] and [[North America]]. In North America they also occur down the western mountains south to [[California]]. 

==Reproduction==
Pyrolaceae, as part of the Ericales produce [[pollen]] in [[anther]]s which open by apical pores. The pollen itself is produced in tetrads and is rather ''sticky''. Not surprisingly, wintergreens are [[insect]] pollinated, most commonly by [[Diptera|flies]]. The rather large and complex stigma may be an adaptation to ensure that small insects carrying pollen have an attractive landing place. The flowers are produced in the summer and the rather inconspicuous greenish seed capsules are produced in the autumn. The seeds are numerous and very small.

==Ecology==
Wintergreens prefer damp and shady locations in woods or in [[Sand dune|dune]] slacks. They are often rather local in distribution but can be locally common especially in their more northern locations. Occurring often separately from the leaved varieties are the achlorophyllous, leafless forms of one or more of the typed species.  Leaves, if present, can be narrow and reddish.  These are [[myco-heterotroph]]s and feed parasitically off of one or more of the local mycelia.  Because of this parasitic action, the viability of the non-photosynthetic pyrola relies on the survival of the supporting mycelium. The pyrola group is one of a select few that can live both photosynthetically or not.  This differentiation is not understood and if deciphered could explain how other obligate non-photosynthetic forest dwelling plants have crossed that evolutionary threshold.

Captain George Vancouver's (1757-1798) botanist Archibald Menzies discovered four new pyrolas near Squirrel Cove, Cortes Island, BC with delicate pink or white flowers often with evergreen leaves. From Desolation Sound by Heather Harbord 1939 {{ISBN|978-1-55017-407-6}}

==Pharmacology==
''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.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Niering |first1=William A. |author-link1=William Niering| last2=Olmstead |first2=Nancy C. |title=The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers, Eastern Region |year=1985 |orig-year=1979|publisher=Knopf |isbn=0-394-50432-1 |page=723}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category-inline|Pyrola|''Pyrola''}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q157528}}

[[Category:Pyrola| ]]
[[Category:Ericaceae genera]]
[[Category:Flora of Europe]]
[[Category:Flora of Northern America]]
[[Category:Flora of temperate Asia]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus]]