Pyrola asarifolia
Bog wintergreen
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Family: Ericaceae · Type: Subshrub · Native
Pyrola asarifolia (Bog wintergreen) is a native California subshrub in the Ericaceae family.
Bog wintergreen is a California native perennial found in conifer forests and mixed evergreen woodlands at elevations of 1,000 to 2,500 meters. Flowering from June to August, this plant produces distinctively pink to deep red flowers 4.8 to 9 millimeters long with delicate, open petals. Growing with erect flower stalks up to 60 centimeters tall, it forms a low-growing woodland ground cover. Its leaves are less than 20 centimeters long, with a shiny upper surface and often purple-tinted underside. The plant's flowers emerge in clusters of approximately 10 blooms, with broadly lanceolate bracts extending beyond the flower stems.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: Geographically isolated from all congeners
Habitat and range
California counties: Placer, San Bernardino, Tulare, Madera, Siskiyou, Butte, Inyo, Plumas, Colusa, Del Norte, El Dorado, Fresno, Humboldt, Lassen, Mariposa, Mendocino, Mono, Nevada, Sierra, Tehama, Trinity, Tuolumne, Kern, Modoc, Shasta, Sonoma
How to tell it apart
vs Pterospora: Pyrola has green basal leaves; Pterospora is completely leafless and brownish-pink without chlorophyll.; vs Corallorhiza: Pyrola has basal leaves and radially symmetrical flowers; Corallorhiza is leafless with bilateral orchid flowers.; vs Chimaphila: Pyrola leaves are all basal in a rosette; Chimaphila has thick leaves scattered up the stem.; vs Goodyera: Pyrola flowers are radially symmetrical and arranged all around stem; Goodyera has spiral orchid flowers.; vs Orthilia: Pyrola flowers arranged evenly around stem; Orthilia flowers distinctly one-sided along the stalk.
Frequently asked questions
Is Pyrola asarifolia native to California?
Yes. Pyrola asarifolia is native to California (recorded as native).
Where in California does Pyrola asarifolia grow?
Pyrola asarifolia occurs in Placer, San Bernardino, Tulare, Madera, Siskiyou, Butte, Inyo, Plumas and other counties.
What plant family does Pyrola asarifolia belong to?
Pyrola asarifolia is in the Ericaceae family, genus Pyrola.
Related species
Other California species in the same genus, family, or bioregion.
Sources: Jepson eFlora · Index of California Plant Names · CalPhotos
Last updated 2026-10-07
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Cal-IPC, and more.