Single Delight

 Single Delight—Moneses uniflora is also known as one-flowered wintergreen. Without its flower, it’s often mixed up with One-Sided Wintergreen which has larger leaves. Greek word “Moneses” means solitary delight. Single Delight is a fragrant and slender evergreen wildflower that is about 4 to 6 cm high. It lives in moist coniferous forests with moss ground or humus woods; it can be seen through most of Alaska except the North Slope, the Aleutian Chain, and western coastal areas. 1 to 3 cm long leaves are at the base and round with shallow teeth. It blooms in June and July; the flower is a waxy white or pinkish white on a leafless stem and has 5 pointed petals. The blight green ovary sticks out and the face of the flower looks down like making a bow to the ground. According to the US Forest Service, Native Americans used it as a cold remedy for skin problems, and scientists have discovered that stem and leaf extracts from the plant can use for antibiotics against several mycobacteria, including the organism that causes tuberculosis.

Reference:             

http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/plant-of-the-week/moneses_uniflora.shtml

http://science.halleyhosting.com/nature/basin/5petal/heath/moneses/uniflora.htm