# shinleaf

*Pyrola elliptica*

Its common name comes from the historical practice of using its leathery, evergreen leaves as a 'shin-plaster' to soothe bruises and scrapes.

- **Taxonomy:** Plantae › Tracheophyta › Magnoliopsida › Ericales › Ericaceae › Pyrola
- **IUCN Red List status:** Least Concern
- **Population trend:** stable
- **Biome:** forest
- **Habitat:** Dry to moist deciduous and coniferous forests, often in sandy or acidic soils
- **Diet:** Mixotrophic (combines photosynthesis with nutrient uptake from mycorrhizal fungi)
- **Range:** North America, Canada, Northern United States
- **Size:** 15 to 30 cm tall
- **Lifespan:** Perennial (individual colonies can persist for decades via underground rhizomes)
- **Active:** diurnal
- **Threats:** Habitat fragmentation, forest clearing, and displacement by invasive understory plants
- **Safe to approach?:** Harmless. This delicate forest plant is safe to observe from any distance. While historically used in folk medicine for its aspirin-like compounds, do not harvest or consume wild specimens, as some look-alikes can be toxic and wild populations should be left undisturbed.

## About

Pyrola elliptica , known as shinleaf , shinleaf pyrola , waxflower shinleaf , elliptic shineleaf and white wintergreen is a species of heath.

## Sources

- Plate: https://gaia-dex.com/species/01b2388e-46fc-4fa5-9fe0-05ddba5abd4d
- iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/82515
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrola elliptica
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List category, as recorded by Gaia-Dex
- Photo: https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/298381507/medium.jpeg (Tom Norton, CC-BY, via iNaturalist)

Habitat, diet, size and similar notes are AI-written summaries; check them against the linked sources before relying on them.