Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria

View additional distribution information on the Jepson eflora

Linnaea borealis, commonly known as Twinflower (sometimes written twin flower) is a woodland subshrub, treated either in the family Caprifoliaceae, or sometimes in its own family Linnaeaceae. The stems are slender, hairy and prostrate, growing to 20-40 centimeter long, with opposite evergreen rounded oval leaves 3-10 millimeter long and 2-7 millimeter broad. The flowering stems curve erect, to 4-8 centimeter tall, leafless except at the base; the flowers are paired, pendulous, 7-12 millimeter long, pale pink with a five-lobed corolla. It has a circumpolar distribution in moist subarctic to cool temperate forests, extending further south at high altitudes in mountains, in Europe south to the Alps, in Asia south to northern Japan, and North America south to northern California and Arizona in the west, and Tennessee in the Appalachian Mountains in the east. In Great Britain, the twinflower grows in mainly open pine woodlands in Scotland and northernmost England. Foresters consider this plant to be an indicator species of ancient woodlands, often found in association with Creeping Lady's Tresses. It is listed as "nationally scarce". It is found in about 50 sites around the country, with most situated in the woods around the Cairngorms; the southernmost locations are four sites in Northumberland and one in County Durham. The sparseness of the sites is responsible for the continued decline of the flower in the country.

Plant type

Perennial herb

Size

2 - 8 in Tall
3 ft Wide

Form

Spreading

Growth rate

Very Slow

Dormancy

Evergreen

Fragrance

Pleasant

Calscape icon
Color

Pink

Special uses

Groundcover

Sun

Deep Shade, Partial Shade

Summer irrigation

Max 1x / month once established

Cold tolerance

Tolerates cold to 5° F

Soil description

Moist, acidic soil.
Soil PH: 5 - 6

Propagation

Most effective way to propagate this plant is through stem cuttings (late spring) or by layering as seeds can be difficult to collect and seed germination rate is quite low. With cuttings, divide young, rooted runners and carefully detach from parent plant.

Site type

Moist places

Plant communities

Lodgepole Forest, Mixed Evergreen Forest, Red Fir Forest, Subalpine Forest, Yellow Pine Forest, Wetland-Riparian