09. Spotted Wintergreen
BOTANY
Media Used: watercolor, colored pencil, acrylic, graphite
2025
Chimaphila maculata
Spotted Wintergreen, also known as striped wintergreen, are perennial evergreen herbs. Their name refers to their variegated leaves, with stark white veins. The pinkish-white flowers bloom on top of their stalks in early summer, and are pollinated by insects. Spotted Wintergreens are also believed to rely on mycorrhizal connections to survive, which is a symbiotic relationship between a plant & a fungi. Believed to have the ability to break down kidney stones & gallstones, Creek Indigenous folk call these plants pipsisikweu, which means “breaks into small pieces”. They are symbols of resilience, endurance, and vitality because of this. Spotted Wintergreens are endangered in Illinois, Maine, and Canada.