''Pyrola crypta'', commonly known as cryptic wintergreen, is a

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

herb in the

heath family The Ericaceae are a family of flowering plants, commonly known as the heath or heather family, found most commonly in acidic and infertile growing conditions. The family is large, with c.4250 known species spread across 124 genera, making it th ...

Description

''Pyrola crypta'' resembles other members of the genus ''

Pyrola ''Pyrola'' is a genus of evergreen herbaceous plants in the family Ericaceae. Under the old Cronquist system it was placed in its own family Pyrolaceae, but genetic research showed it belonged in the family Ericaceae. The species are commonly k ...

'', particularly '' Pyrola picta''. It can be distinguished from the later by its relatively long

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined ...

s (>), longer floral bracts (>), and longer leaf petioles (, vs. in ''P. picta'').

Range

''Pyrola crypta'' is endemic to western North America. It is found in

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idah ...

, and

northern California Northern California (colloquially known as NorCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Spanning the state's northernmost 48 counties, its main population centers incl ...

, in the

Olympic Peninsula The Olympic Peninsula is a large arm of land in western Washington that lies across Puget Sound from Seattle, and contains Olympic National Park. It is bounded on the west by the Pacific Ocean, the north by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, an ...

, the Cascade Range, the Klamath region, and the

northern coast Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

Habitat

''Pyrola crypta'' grows between and in elevation, in coniferous forests composed of

Pinus A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden a ...

Picea A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' (), a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal (taiga) regions of the Earth. ''Picea'' is the sole genus in the subfam ...

Abies Firs (''Abies'') are a genus of 48–56 species of evergreen coniferous trees in the family Pinaceae. They are found on mountains throughout much of North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa. The genus is most closely related to ...

Tsuga ''Tsuga'' (, from Japanese (), the name of ''Tsuga sieboldii'') is a genus of conifers in the subfamily Abietoideae of Pinaceae, the pine family. The common name hemlock is derived from a perceived similarity in the smell of its crushed foliage ...

, or

Thuja ''Thuja'' ( ) is a genus of coniferous tree or shrub in the Cupressaceae (cypress family). There are five species in the genus, two native to North America and three native to eastern Asia. The genus is monophyletic and sister to '' Thujopsis'' ...

Ecology

Like other members of ''Pyrola'', ''P. crypta'' has flowers adapted to

buzz pollination Buzz pollination or sonication is a technique used by some bees, such as solitary bees to release pollen which is more or less firmly held by the anthers. The anthers of buzz-pollinated plant species are typically tubular, with an opening at only ...

, and there is some indication that ''P. crypta'' reaches

anthesis Anthesis is the period during which a flower is fully open and functional. It may also refer to the onset of that period. The onset of anthesis is spectacular in some species. In ''Banksia'' species, for example, anthesis involves the extension ...

later in the season than other ''Pyrola'' species from the same area.

Etymology

The specific epithet, ''crypta'', means "cryptic", referring to the fact that the species is difficult to distinguish morphologically from other members of ''Pyrola'', particularly ''P. picta''.

Taxonomy

''Pyrola crypta'' is a member ''Pyrola'' sect. ''Scotophylla'' Křísa, which also contains ''P. picta'', ''P. dentata'', and ''P. aphylla''. These taxa together are generally recognized as forming a

species complex In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...

. Relationships among these taxa are difficult to disentangle, but evidence from

chloroplast A chloroplast () is a type of membrane-bound organelle known as a plastid that conducts photosynthesis mostly in plant and algal cells. The photosynthetic pigment chlorophyll captures the energy from sunlight, converts it, and stores it ...

genetic loci suggest ''P. crypta'' is

sister A sister is a woman or a girl who shares one or more parents with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to ...

to ''P. dentata'', despite its closer morphological similarity to ''P. picta''.

References

External links

Calflora: ''Pyrola crypta'' (Cryptic wintergreen)Jepson Manual (TJM2) treatment of ''Pyrola crypta''
Flora of the Western United States Flora of Washington (state) Flora of California Flora of the Cascade Range Natural history of the California Coast Ranges

crypta Crypta is a Brazilian death metal band formed in 2019. The band is formed by bassist/vocalist Fernanda Lira, drummer Luana Dametto (both former members of thrash metal band Nervosa), along with guitarists Tainá Bergamaschi and Jéssica di Falchi ...

Flora of Oregon Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Flora of the Klamath Mountains Plants described in 2014 Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Ericaceae-stub