Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Ericales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Chimaphila maculata
FAMILY
Ericaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Read more about Pipsissewa at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
A low, semiherbaceous, evergreen plant with creeping underground stems and upright leafy branches, per How to Recognize Shrubs (Grimm, 1966).
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Chimaphila maculata
FAMILY
Pyrolaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN Flora of North America
Chimaphila maculata
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 145-01-001:
Chimaphila maculata FAMILY Ericaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Chimaphila maculata
COMMON NAME:
Pipsissewa, Striped Wintergreen, Rat's Bane
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_chma3_001_lvd
)
Steve Marlow snm079901_09
January Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
An acid soil indicator plant which grows at a pH of about 4.5, per Corneille Bryan Native Garden.
)
Roxanna Martin rlm21911_194
February Spartanburg County SC
Capsule subglobose, splitting on the sutures from the apex to the base, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
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Steve Marlow snm160531_041
May Pickens County SC
Table Rock State Park
)
Roxanna Martin rlm6410_345
June Spartanburg County SC
The 5 petals are white or pinkish; the stigma is rounded and green, per Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005).
)
Roxanna Martin rlm6610_349
June Spartanburg County SC
Five sepals united at base, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
Roxanna Martin rlm6610_351
June Spartanburg County SC
10 stamens each with a pair of conspicuous tubular anthers, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_chimaphila_maculata_c
June
Small clusters of nodding waxy flowers at the top of the plant, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
Tim Spira tps_cmaculalta5
June
Leaves dark green with a whitish stripe down the middle, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm120702_378b
July Greenville County SC
Leaves widest near the base with large distant teeth along the margins, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
)
Keith Bradley kab_c_maculata_1073
July Buncombe County NC
North Carolina Arboretum
)
Roxanna Martin rlm7210_264
July Spartanburg County SC
Although the flowers nod, the fruit capsule is erect, per Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Chimaphila maculata
FAMILY
Ericaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Chimaphila maculata
FAMILY
Pyrolaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
Flora of North America
Chimaphila maculata
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 145-01-001:
Chimaphila maculata
FAMILY
Ericaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Chimaphila maculata
317
Subshrub; Forb
Perennial
Habitat: forests and woodlands, mostly rather xeric and acid, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common (rare in GA Coastal Plain)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)
LEAVES:
Evergreen
Simple
Alternate
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
White
Radially symmetrical
5 sepals
5 petals
10 stamens
Superior ovary
Bisexual
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005) p028
- Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers (Campbell, Hutson, Sharp, & Hutson, 1962) p058
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p192
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p238
- Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southeast (Foote & Jones, 1989) p103
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p284
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p123
- Wildflowers of the Carolina Lowcountry (Porcher, 1995) p139
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p173
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p167
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p097
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p125
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p349
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p100
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p118
- Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region (Sorrie, 2011) p127
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