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Moneses uniflora

Common name:	Single Delight	Family:	Pyrolaceae
Author:	(L.)A.Gray.	Botanical references:	17, 200
Synonyms:	Pyrola uniflora (L.), Moneses grandiflora
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Europe, including Britain, from Iceland south and east to Spain, N. Asia to Japan, N. America.
Habitat:	Pine woods, the margins of moist woods in shady mossy places often in a bed of pine needles, avoiding calcareous soils[17].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	2

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	M. uniflora ssp. reticulata[B] M. uniflora ssp. uniflora[P] M. uniflora var. reticulata[B]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Eenbloemig Wintergroen [D], One-flowered Pyrola [L], One-flowered Wintergreen [H,L], Oneflowered Woodnymph [P], Single Delight [P], Single-delight [B],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	flora = flowered; uniflora = one flowered;
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Ericales. Shinleaf family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Canada(Kwakiutl); Canada(Nootka); Us(Makah)

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen perennial growing to 0.1m by 0.3m . It is hardy to zone 2. It is in leaf all year, in flower from June to August. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees, flies and beetles. The plant is self-fertile. We rate it 2/5 for edibility and 2/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils. The plant prefers acid and neutral soils and can grow in very acid soil. It can grow in full shade (deep woodland) semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Dappled Shade, Shady Edge, Deep Shade.

Edible Uses

Fruit; Seed.

Fruit[2, 105, 155, 161, 257]. No more details are given. The fruit is a capsule about 8cm wide[200].
Seed - raw or cooked[172].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Anodyne; Miscellany; Poultice.

An infusion of the dried plant has been used in the treatment of coughs and colds[257]. The plant has been chewed, and the juice swallowed, as a treatment for sore throat[257]. A poultice of the leaves has been used to draw out the pus from boils and abscesses, to draw blisters, to help reduce swellings and also to relieve pain[257].

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

Prefers a moist sandy woodland soil[111, 200] in a cool position with partial shade[1, 11, 200]. Requires a peaty or leafy acid soil that remains moist in the summer[200].
This is a very difficult plant to grow. It requires a mycorrhizal relationship in the soil and therefore needs to be grown initially in soil collected from around an established plant[200]. It is also very difficult from seed as well as being intolerant of root disturbance which makes division difficult[1].
This species is rare decreasing in the wild in Britain. Surviving populations are threatened, usually by commercial forestry[200].

Propagation

Seed - the only information we have on this species is that it is difficult from seed and germinates infrequently[200]. We would suggest sowing the seed as soon as it is ripe if this is possible. Sow it into soil collected from around an established plant, only just covering the seed, and put the pot in a shady part of a cold frame. Pot up any young seedlings into individual pots as soon as they are large enough to handle, once again using soil from around an established plant. Plant out into their permanent positions when the plants are large enough. You should not need to use soil from around an established plant to do this since the soil in the pot will contain the necessary micorrhiza.
Division with great care in the spring[1, 111]. Pot up the divisions using some soil from around an established plant, grow on in a lightly shaded part of a greenhouse or frame and do not plant out until the plants are growing away vigorously[200].

Suppliers

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

Web References

[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.
[S] Illustration from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[C] Taxon data. from the CalFlora database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Moneses uniflora ssp. uniflora (a possible synonym).

[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.

References for Pyrola uniflora (a possible synonym).

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

References for moneses uniflora (a possible synonym).

[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures

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]).

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[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.

[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.

[111] Sanders. T. W. Popular Hardy Perennials. Collingridge 1926
A fairly wide range of perennial plants that can be grown in Britain and how to grow them.

[155] Arnberger. L. P. Flowers of the Southwest Mountains. Southwestern Monuments Ass. 1968
A lovely little pocket guide to wild plants in the southern Rockies of America.

[161] Yanovsky. E. Food Plants of the N. American Indians. Publication no. 237. U.S. Depf of Agriculture.
A comprehensive but very terse guide. Not for the casual reader.

[172] Schofield. J. J. Discovering Wild Plants - Alaska, W. Canada and the Northwest.
A nice guide to some useful plants in that area.

[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.

[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.

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Bibliography

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
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