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Chimaphila maculata

Common name:	Spotted Wintergreen	Family:	Pyrolaceae
Author:	(L.)Pursh.	Botanical references:	200, 204, 235
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Eastern N. America - Illinois to Michigan and Ontario, south to Texas and Georgia.
Habitat:	Rich woods[222]. Dry woods[235].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	1	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	3

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	C. maculata var. dasystemma[B]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Spotted Wintergreen [H,L], Striped Pipsissewa [DEN1], Striped Prince's Pine [P], Striped Prince's-pine [B], Wintergreen,Spotted [E],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	maculata = spotted;
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Ericales. Shinleaf family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Mexico; Us; Us(Nc)

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen shrub growing to 0.25m by 0.5m . It is hardy to zone 6. It is in leaf all year, in flower from June to August. The scented flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs). We rate it 1/5 for edibility and 3/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Dappled Shade, Shady Edge, Ground Cover.

Edible Uses

Leaves; Tea.

The leaves are used as a snack, being nibbled for their refreshing qualities[183, 257].
In Mexico the herb is used as a catalyst in the preparation of 'tesguino', an alcoholic beverage produced from sprouted maize[183].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Analgesic; Antibacterial; Antiscrophulatic; Astringent; Cancer; Diaphoretic; Diuretic; Febrifuge; Rubefacient; Skin; Stimulant; Tonic.

The plant is analgesic, antibacterial, astringent, diaphoretic, diuretic, febrifuge, rubefacient, stimulant and tonic[4, 207, 222, 257]. The plant has an antiseptic influence on the urinary system and is sometimes used in the treatment of cystitis[4]. An infusion of the plant has been drunk in the treatment of rheumatism and colds[257]. A poultice of the root has been used to treat pain[257] whilst the plant has also been used as a wash on ulcers, scrofula and cancers[257]. All parts of the plant can be used, though only the leaves are officinal[4].
The plant is loaded with the biologically active compounds arbutin, sitosterol and ursolic acid[222]. Arbutin hydrolyzes to the toxic urinary antiseptic hydroquinone[222].

Other Uses

Ground cover.

The plants stoloniferous root system, and dwarf spreading habit make it a god ground cover, though it is a difficult plant to establish and grow well[245].

Cultivation details

Requires a light moist but well-drained lime-free soil and shade from direct sunlight[1].
This species is difficult to propagate and grow in cultivation, mainly because it has certain mycorrhizal associations in the wild and these are necessary if the plant is to thrive[200]. It is best to use some soil collected from around an established plant when sowing seed or planting out into a new position[200].
The plant has wide-spreading fibrous feeding roots and will often die or fail to increase in size if these are disturbed.
The flowers are deliciously scented[245].

Propagation

Seed - very difficult to germinate, see the notes in cultivation details. It is best sown on moist sphagnum peat. As soon as they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in a shady position in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
Division. Rather difficult because the plant is very sensitive to root disturbance. It is best attempted in the spring as the plant comes into growth[200].
Cuttings of softwood, June in a frame. Use some soil from around an established plant[14].

Scent

Flowers: Fresh: The flowers are deliciously scented.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[DEN] Data _ Photos (Good Identification info) from the Virginia Tech's Dendrology Deptarments' Tree Fact Sheets.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for the family Pyrolaceae.

[CHINA] Draft Data Very detailed botanical/identification info. from the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[14] Holtom. J. and Hylton. W. Complete Guide to Herbs. Rodale Press 1979 ISBN 0-87857-262-7
A good herbal.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[204] Livingstone. B. Flora of Canada National Museums of Canada 1978 ISBN 0-660-00025-3
In 4 volumes, it does not deal with plant uses but gives descriptions and habitats.

[207] Coffey. T. The History and Folklore of North American Wild Flowers. Facts on File. 1993 ISBN 0-8160-2624-6
A nice read, lots of information on plant uses.

[222] Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1990 ISBN 0395467225
A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties.

[235] Britton. N. L. Brown. A. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada Dover Publications. New York. 1970 ISBN 0-486-22642-5
Reprint of a 1913 Flora, but still a very useful book.

[245] Genders. R. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale. London. 1994 ISBN 0-7090-5440-8
An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
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