Pink wintergreen, Pyrola asarifolia, is a tiny pinkish treasure of the forest understory. The USDA calls the subspecies of this region, ssp. asarifolia, the liverleaf wintergreen, yet again ruining the poetic beauty of a wildflower with a horrible name.
These nodding flowers emerge in a cluster on a long stalk from shiny, evergreen (hence the name wintergreen), basal leaves.
Also called bog wintergreen or Pyrola rotundifolia, these wildflowers often grow almost hidden by tall grasses or tucked underneath the trees of moist, shaded, mid-elevation forests, but they are quite charming when found!
I have seen this species in numerous western states (and in Alberta, Canada), but never very often. You really have to keep your eyes open for this one!
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