Wintergreen

Chimaphila

Chimaphila maculata ( Striped Wintergreen )
A perennial, reaching up to 1 foot in height, that is native to dry, acidic or sandy pine woods in eastern North America ( from Traverse City, Michigan to Wasaga Beach and Long Point in Ontario to southern Quebec to New Hampshire; south to northeast Mississippi to northern Georgia ). It is critically endangered in Ontario where just 4 populations remain and Quebec with just one tiny remaining population. It likely had a much wider range in the past in southern Ontario that would have included the Leamington area, Grand Bend, and a wider portion of Haldimand-Norfolk County. It is also endangered in Illinois, Maine and New York.
The lance-shaped leaves, up to 2.8 x 1 inch in size, are deep green with a whitish midrib and veins.
Up to 5 fragrant, white flowers are borne per umbel during late summer
Hardy zones 5 to 8, it thrives in partial to full shade on acidic soil with pine needle mulch. It is typically found in coniferous and pine-oak forests in the wild.

USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database

* photos taken on Apr 27 2015 in Howard Co., MD

* photos taken on Aug 20 2016 in Olney, MD

* photos taken on Sep 18 2016 @ Patuxent Research Refuge, Laurel, MD

* photos taken on Nov 26 2019 @ Patuxent Research Reserve, Laurel, MD

* photos taken on Aug 4 2021 @ U.S. National Arboretum, Washington, DC

Chimaphila umbellata ( Wintergreen )
Also called Pipsissewa. An evergreen, rhizomatous ( sometimes forming large colonies ) perennial, reaching up to 14 inches in height, that is native to dry upland coniferous woodland. It is a widespread native of North America's boreal and mixed forest region ( from Skagway, Alaska to far southwest Northwest Territories to Gimli, Manitoba to Lake Nipigon to Chapleau, Ontario to central Quebec to Labrador and Newfoundland; south to the mountains of California, AZ & NM to northeast Iowa to northern Indiana to southern West Virginia to North Carolina ). It is also native to the boreal region of northern Eurasia. It is rare in all of Maryland and critically endangered in Kentucky where it has a disjunct distribution in just one county in the south-central part of the State. It is also endangered in Saskatchewan. In the Windsor/Essex County, Ontario region; it was only noted as occurring on the Ohio lakeshore but likely also occurred sporadically in southern Essex County at that time.
The toothed, oblanceolate leaves, up to 2.8 x 0.9 inches in size, are glossy deep green. They are borne in pairs or whorls of 3 or 4.
The white to pinkish flowers, up to 0.6 inches wide, are borne per umbel of 4 to 8 during summer
Hardy zones 2 to 7, it thrives in partial to full shade on acidic sandy soil with pine needle mulch. It is typically found in coniferous forests in the wild.

* photos taken by Jean Pawek @ CalPhotos

USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database

* historical archive photos