Flower of the Day: Spotted Wintergreen

aka striped prince’s pine; Chimaphila maculata; Pyrolaceae (shinleaf family; some authorities place it in the Ericaceae (heath family))

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This low-growing (only a few inches tall) evergreen plant likes the shade of deep woods.  The flowers most often appear in pairs, though there can also be one or three flowers together.  It’s found in eastern North America from Florida through Quebec, but is endangered in much of Canada, Maine, and Illinois, and is classed as exploitably vulnerable in New York.

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