Pyrola is a genus of plants in the family Ericaceae native to the region spanning from the subarctic and temperate northern hemisphere to Guatemala and Sumatra.
Pyrola are erect, chlorophyllous or achlorophyllous, up to 35âÂÂ44 cm tall herbs or subshrubs with single, glabrous stems. The long, branched, slender rootstock bears fine roots.
The many-flowered, racemose inflorescence with 1âÂÂ4 scape bracts bears pedicellate, nodding, campanulate, radially symmetric or slightly zygomorphic flowers. The pendulous, loculicidal capsule fruit bears approximately 1000 winged, spindle-shaped seeds.
The chromosome count is n = 23, 46.
It was described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753. The lectotype is Pyrola rotundifolia
It has 42 accepted species:
Pyrola elliptica, commonly known as "shinleaf", contains a drug related to aspirin, and the leaves have been used to treat bruises. Its common name derives from its use in shin casting.