Stats

Lifespan: Perennial
Size: Small
Diet: Photosynthetic
Biome: Temperate forest
Range: North America
Movement: Sessile
Breeding: Seeds
Defense: Toxins
Status: Common

About

Striped wintergreen is a small evergreen woodland plant whose dark green leaves bear bold white stripes along the veins, keeping their variegated pattern throughout the year. Despite the name, it belongs to the heath family (Ericaceae) rather than the true wintergreens, and thrives in the acidic, humus-rich soils of deciduous and mixed forests.

Life cycle

1.
seed
A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2.
sprout
A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3.
sapling
A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4.
mature
Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

Learn more

Taxonomy

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Ericales
Family: Ericaceae
Genus: Chimaphila
Species: Chimaphila maculata