Box 9KK Wintergreen family

Wintergreen

Source: D Wascher


The wintergreens (Pyrolaceae) are a family with ten species of small perennial herbs (including a few dwarf shrubs) occurring in Europe. They are typical and often abundant plants of the natural nutrient-poor woodlands and heaths in boreal and Central Europe. All species live in symbiosis with fungi (mycorrhiza), possessing long creeping rhizomes, buried in ground litter. Nutrient input (especially nitrogen) has negative effects on mycorrhiza and favours other species such as grasses. Hence, the disappearance of this group may be regarded as a good indicator for the degree of nutrient input through air pollution. Map 9.27 illustrates the threatened state of family members especially in the highly industrialised regions of Central Europe. The wintergreens still occur frequently only in more natural regions such as the Alps. In Switzerland, only one species is threatened in the whole country, but all species are threatened in the Alpine 'Mittelland' region. Because of the indirect influence of nutrient inputs into ecosystems, effective conservation for species such as those of the Pyrolaceae cannot be achieved by the creation of nature reserves alone. Almost all species of the group are widely distributed in Central and Northern Europe and therefore are not threatened with extinction. However, the wintergreens are a good example of the loss of functional components of ecosystems within Central Europe.


Map 9.27 - Distribution of the wintergreen family (Pyrolaceae)

Source: M Schnittler, personal communication