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Linnaea borealis

Common name:	Twinflower	Family:	Caprifoliaceae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	11, 17, 200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Northern Europe, including Britain, from Norway south and east to Germany, the Alps and N. Asia.
Habitat:	Woods, especially pine, and in the shade of rocks to elevations of 725 metres in N. Britain[17].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	L. borealis ssp. americana[P] L. borealis ssp. longiflora[B,CPHOTO,CAL,CAL,,P] L. borealis var. longiflora[B,P] Linnea borealis[H]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	American Twinflower [B], Linnaeusklokje [D], Longtube Twinflower [P], Twinflower [FEIS,S,P,L],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	borealis = Northern
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Dipsacales. Honeysuckle family

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen shrub growing to 0.2m by 1m . It is hardy to zone 2. It is in leaf all year, in flower from May to August. The scented flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects. We rate it 2/5 for edibility and 1/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers acid soils and can grow in very acid soil. It can grow in full shade (deep woodland) or semi-shade (light woodland). It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Dappled Shade, Shady Edge, Deep Shade, Ground Cover.

Edible Uses

Leaves.

A food plant[177, 257]. No more details are given.

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Poultice Women's complaints.

The plant has been used as a tonic in pregnancy and also in the treatment of painful or difficult menstruation[222].
The mashed plant is used as a poultice on inflamed limbs and is also applied to the head to ease the pain of headaches[257].

Other Uses

Ground cover.

The plant forms an extensive twiggy mat and is useful as a ground cover on peat beds and in rock gardens[188]. Plants form a dense carpet when growing in god conditions, rooting as they spread, but otherwise the cover is sparse[208]. Plants should be spaced about 60cm apart each way[208].

Cultivation details

Prefers a rather shaded position in a rock garden in a moist peaty soil[11, 200]. It grows well in pine woods[245]. Requires an acid soil[200].
Plants can be rather difficult to establish[200]. The sub-species L. borealis americana grows more freely than the European form.
The plant is polymorphic[1].
The flowers have an evening fragrance like that of the honeysuckle[245].

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in the autumn in a cold frame[188]. Sow stored seed as soon as possible, it is likely to require a period of cold stratification. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
Division of rooted runners in the spring[188].
Layering.
Cuttings of half-ripe wood in the summer[188]. They are rather slow to root[1].

Scent

Flowers: Fresh: The flowers have an evening fragrance like that of the honeysuckle.

Suppliers

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

Web References

[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.
[S] Image from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[C] Taxon data. from the CalFlora database.
[C] Taxon data. from the CalFlora database.
Images from the CalPhoto database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[FEIS] Data (Uses, Ecology, Fire Effects) from the USDA Forestry Service Fire Effects Information System.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database
[FEIS] Data (Uses, Ecology, Fire Effects) from the USDA Forestry Service Fire Effects Information System.

References for Linnaea borealis ssp. longiflora (a possible synonym).

[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.

References for Linnea borealis (a possible synonym).

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database

References for linnaea borealis (a possible synonym).

[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures
[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures
[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures
[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures

References for the family Caprifoliaceae.

To be included in 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]).

[11] Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981
A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.

[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.

[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.

[188] Brickell. C. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. 1990 ISBN 0-86318-386-7
Excellent range of photographs, some cultivation details but very little information on plant uses.

[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.

[208] Thomas. G. S. Plants for Ground Cover J. M. Dent & Sons 1990 ISBN 0-460-12609-1
An excellent detailled book on the subject, very comprehensive.

[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.

[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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