Flora of the Southeastern United States

Linnaea borealis Linnaeus ssp. longiflora (Torrey) Piper & Beattie. Common name: American Twinflower. Phenology: Jun-Aug. Habitat: Northern hardwoods forests. Distribution: Greenland, Newfoundland and Labrador (Labrador), and Alaska south to West Virginia, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, New Mexico, Arizona, and California; disjunct in e. Tennessee. L. borealis is documented by an early specimen (1892) from Sevier County, Tennessee, presumably from the Great Smoky Mountains; the Tennessee population (not seen since) is disjunct from e. West Virginia and w. Maryland.

Origin/Endemic status: Native

Taxonomy Comments: The species is variously divided into infrataxa, with as many as three present in w. North America (varieties longiflora, americana, and borealis). We here accept the interpretation of Zika & Tucker (2017) of two taxa, at subspecies rank, in which case eastern North American plants are ssp. longiflora.

Synonymy ⓘ: = Can, FNA18, NSProv, NY, Zika & Tucker (2017); = Linnaea borealis L. var. longiflora Torrey — C, G, Il, Mi; = n/a — S; < Linnaea borealis L. — GrPl, Pa, W, Christenhusz (2013); > Linnaea borealis L. ssp. americana (J.Forbes) Hultén — K1, K4, NE, NS, Tn; > Linnaea borealis L. var. americana (J.Forbes) Rehder — F, POWO; > Linnaea borealis L. var. longiflora Torrey — POWO. Basionym: Linnaea borealis L. var. longiflora Torrey 1874

Links to other floras: = Linnaea borealis ssp. longiflora - FNA18

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Wetland Indicator Status:

• Eastern Mountains and Piedmont: FAC (name change)
• Great Plains: FACU (name change)
• Midwest: FAC (name change)
• Northcentral & Northeast: FAC (name change)

Heliophily ⓘ: 2