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Overview
Orthilia spp. is a small genus in the family Ericaceae, usually treated as containing the single circumboreal species O. secunda, the sidebells or one-sided wintergreen. It is a low, evergreen, rhizomatous perennial herb of cool coniferous and mixed forests across the Northern Hemisphere. Plants form patches of thin, creeping stems that send up short flowering shoots 5-20 cm (2-8 in) tall. The leaves are oval, finely toothed, glossy green, and 2-5 cm (0.8-2 in) long, clustered near the base of the shoot. In summer a slender stalk bears a one-sided, nodding raceme of small, greenish-white, bell-shaped flowers, each with a long straight style that projects beyond the petals; this one-sided arrangement gives the plant its name. The genus is partly mycoheterotrophic, drawing some nutrition through soil fungi linked to conifer roots, which ties it to undisturbed forest with deep humus and makes it hard to transplant. It grows in shade on acidic, moss-rich ground, often among needle litter, and spreads slowly by its rhizome to form colonies.
Native Range
Orthilia secunda is circumboreal, native across northern North America, Europe, and Asia, reaching south in mountains. It grows in cool, shaded coniferous and mixed forests on acidic, humus-rich soils, often among mosses and conifer-needle litter.Suggested Uses
Orthilia spp. is encountered as a native of northern and mountain forests rather than as a garden plant, and it is of interest in studies of partly mycoheterotrophic wintergreens. The species has a history of use in traditional herbal medicine.How to Identify
Appearance
Size & Dimensions
Height2" - 8"
Width/Spread8" - 1'4"
Bloom Information
Flowering occurs in summer, roughly June to August, when the one-sided racemes of greenish-white bells open above the evergreen leaves. The flowers give way to small, dry, rounded capsules that split to shed minute, dust-like seed adapted to dispersal with the help of soil fungi.
Detailed Descriptions
Foliage Description
glossy greenGrowing Conditions
Sun Requirements
• Full Sun: 6+ hours of direct sunlight
• Partial Shade: 3-6 hours of direct sunlight
• Full Shade: Less than 3 hours of direct sunlight