One-flowered Wintergreen - Moneses uniflora

One-flowered Wintergreen
Moneses uniflora (L.) Gray
Synonym: Pyrola uniflora. Other names: Wood nymph, Single delight, Shy maiden.

Family: Ericaceae, Heath
Genus: Moneses

Description
General: perennial, evergreen herb, erect, 3-15 cm tall,
usually with 1, rarely 2 bracts about midlength, from
slender rhizomes.

Leaves: basal, the blades almost round, ovate-elliptic to
obovate, 1-2.5 cm long, lightly to prominently small-round-
toothed, gradually tapering to the stalks, these from 1/2 as
long to nearly equal in length.

Flowers: single and terminal, nodding, fragrant, 1.5-2.5
cm broad, white. Sepals 5, round-tipped, about 1/4 the
length of the petals, separate most of their length, usually
bent back, with ragged or small-toothed edges. Petals 5,
ovate-lanceolate, spreading, round-tipped, often with wavy
edges. Stamens 10, bent inward. Style 2-4 mm long,
straight, stigma large, lobed.
Flowering time: June-July.

Fruits: capsule, nearly round, 6-7 mm thick, with 5
chambers.

Distribution
Woods, usually moist, montane to subalpine zone, usually
on rotting wood, in w and c. parts of MT. Also from AK to
WA and OR, on both sides of the Cascades, and in CA, ID,
NM, and in e. N. America as far as PA.

Edible and medicinal plant: see below.

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Contents
Identification
English Names Index
Scientific Names Index
Family Index

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Edible Uses:
The fruit of wood nymph is said to edible, as are the seeds, raw or cooked.

Medicinal Uses:
A tea of the dried plant has been used in the treatment of coughs and colds. The plant has been chewed, and the juice swallowed, as a treatment for sore throat. A poultice of the leaves has been used by the Cowichan Indians to draw out the pus from boils and abscesses, to draw blisters, to help reduce swellings and also to relieve pain. The Kwakiutl Indians used a poultice of chewed or pounded plants applied to swellings and pains.