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Orthilia secunda

Common name:	Sidebells Wintergreen	Family:	Pyrolaceae
Author:	(L.)House.	Botanical references:	17, 200
Synonyms:	Pyrola secunda (L.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Europe, including Britain, from Iceland south and east to the Pyrenees and Asia. N. America.
Habitat:	Damp coniferous woods and on damp rock ledges[17, 200].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	1	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	O. secunda ssp. obtusata[B,P] O. secunda var. obtusata[B,P] Pyrola secunda ssp. obtusata[B,P] Pyrola secunda var. obtusata[B,P] Ramischia elatior[B,P] Ramischia secunda[B,P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Eenzijdig Wintergroen [D], One-sided Pyrola [S], Pyrola, One-sided [S], Serrated Wintergreen [L], Sidebells [B], Sidebells Wintergreen [P], Yevering Bells [H],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	secunda = in a row, leaves on one side, secund
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Ericales. Shinleaf family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Europe

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen perennial growing to 0.1m by 0.3m . It is hardy to zone 5. It is in leaf all year, in flower from July to August. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects. The plant is self-fertile. We rate it 1/5 for edibility and 1/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) 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

Seed Tea.

Seed[172]. No more details are given.
The leaves are occasionally used as a tea[183].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Ophthalmic.

A strong decoction of the root has been used as an eye wash[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 but not very acid soil that remains moist in the summer[31, 187].
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].

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 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

[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.
[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 Pyrola secunda (a possible synonym).

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[S] Illustration from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[S] Image from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.

References for orthilia secunda (a possible synonym).

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

[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.

[31] Brown. Shade Plants for Garden and Woodland.

[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.

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

[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.

[187] Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Perennials Volumes 1 and 2. Pan Books 1991 ISBN 0-330-30936-9
Photographs of over 3,000 species and cultivars of ornamental plants together with brief cultivation notes, details of habitat etc.

[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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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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