Shin-Leaf
Pyrola elliptica. Heath Family.
Scape.--Upright; scaly; terminating in a many-flowered raceme. Leaves.--From the root; thin and dull; somewhat oval. Flowers.--White; nodding. Calyx.--Five-parted. Corolla.--Of five rounded, concave petals. Stamens.--Ten. Pistil.--One, with a long curved style.
In the distance these pretty flowers suggest the lilies-of-the-valley. They are found in the woods of June and July, often in close company with the pipsissewa. The ugly common name of shin-leaf arose from an early custom of applying the leaves of this genus to bruises or sores; the English peasantry being in the habit of calling any kind of plaster a "shin-plaster" without regard to the part of the body to which it might be applied. The old herbalist, Salmon, says that the name Pyrola was given to the genus by the Romans on account of the fancied resemblance of its leaves and flowers to those of a pear-tree. The English also call the plant "wintergreen," which name we usually reserve for Gaultheria procumbens.
P. rotundifolia is a species with thick, shining, rounded leaves. It is the tallest of the genus, its scape standing, at times, one foot above the ground. This species exhibits several varieties with rose-colored flowers. The smallest member of the group, P. secunda, is only from three to six inches high. Its numerous small, greenish flowers are turned to one side, and are scarcely nodding. They are clustered in spike-like fashion along the scape. P. minor can be distinguished from all other Pyrolas by the short style which does not protrude from the globular blossom. This is a retiring little plant which is only found in our northern woods and mountains. Many of these flowers are fragrant.