Pyrola/ˈpɪrələ/[2] is a genus of evergreen herbaceousplants 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 of simple orbicular or ovate leaves, with a flower stem bearing generally rather lax racemes 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 stigma which itself is branched into several lobes. To the casual observer the flower appears to have a small bell-clapper sticking out.
Pyrolaceae, as part of the Ericales produce pollen in anthers 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 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.
Ecologyedit
Wintergreens prefer damp and shady locations in woods or in 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-heterotrophs 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 ISBN978-1-55017-407-6
Pharmacologyedit
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.[3]
^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.
External linksedit
Media related to Pyrola at Wikimedia Commons
January 01, 1970
pyrola, other, uses, pirola, pirola, disambiguation, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspaper. For other uses of Pirola see Pirola disambiguation This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Pyrola news newspapers books scholar JSTOR September 2017 Learn how and when to remove this message Pyrola ˈ p ɪr e l e 2 is a genus of evergreen herbaceous plants 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 Pyrola Pyrola asarifolia Scientific classification Kingdom Plantae Clade Tracheophytes Clade Angiosperms Clade Eudicots Clade Asterids Order Ericales Family Ericaceae Subfamily Pyroloideae Genus PyrolaL Species 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 1 Pirola Neck They are rather small plants with a rosette of simple orbicular or ovate leaves with a flower stem bearing generally rather lax racemes 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 stigma which itself is branched into several lobes To the casual observer the flower appears to have a small bell clapper sticking out Contents 1 Distribution 2 Reproduction 3 Ecology 4 Pharmacology 5 References 6 External linksDistribution editThey 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 editPyrolaceae as part of the Ericales produce pollen in anthers 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 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 editWintergreens prefer damp and shady locations in woods or in 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 heterotrophs 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 6Pharmacology editPyrola 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 3 References edit Pirola Neck orth var 1770 Tropicos org Missouri Botanical Garden 29 Jul 2013 pyrola Oxford English Dictionary Online ed Oxford University Press Subscription or participating institution membership required Niering William A Olmstead Nancy C 1985 1979 The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers Eastern Region Knopf p 723 ISBN 0 394 50432 1 External links edit nbsp Media related to Pyrola at Wikimedia Commons Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Pyrola amp oldid 1213455540, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
