43 Chimaphila maculata.
of one of the common English names of this species and its congener
Chimaphila umbellata. The resemblance between the two species
is very striking when the plants are separately viewed, and has
given rise to the mistake of collecting one for the other, or both,
indiscriminately, for the Pippsissewa. The plant now under notice,
has been called poison Pippsissewa by the Indians. It grows in company
with C. umbellata, the different species of Pyrola, Andromeda,
and Vaccinium, delighting in the same kind of soil as they flourish
in. It exhales a very delicate and aromatic fragrance, resembling
that of the Pippsissewa, but more intense. By the whitish marks in
the leaves, it may readily be distinguished from the Pippsissewa,
when sought by persons unacquainted with the botanic characters
of the two plants. Like that species, C. maculata is possessed of
active medicinal virtues, which will be particularly detailed elsewhere.*
Fig. l. Represents a flowering specimen, of the size of nature.
3. The pistil.
3. A stamen;
* Vegetable Materia Medica of the United States, Vol. III.