Index / Search / Chimaphila umbellata

§1 Plant

Chimaphila umbellata (L.) W.P.C. Barton

vernacular pipsissewa — species · Pyrolaceae


USDA
CHUM
GBIF
2888307
Rank
species
pipsissewa (Chimaphila umbellata)
Platephotograph · Eric CarignanCC BY-NC source · iNaturalist ↗

§2Habit & range

Habit and range

Growth habit
Subshrub
Duration
Perennial
Group
Dicot
Family
Pyrolaceae Lindl.
Genus
Chimaphila
§2a

Native status, by region

  • AK Alaska Native
  • CAN Canada Native
  • L48 Lower 48 States Native
§2b

County-level range

· 599 counties across 34 states/territories
Legend Native · 599 Introduced · 0 Both · 0 Hover a county for detail.

§3Cultivation specs · USDA

Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.

§3a

Tolerances

Drought
Medium
Shade
Low
Moisture use
Low
Fire
High
Salinity
None
Anaerobic
None
CaCO₃
Low
Hedging
None
§3b

Climate & soil

Cold tolerance
-38 °F minimum
Frost-free days
85 min.
Precipitation
30–55 in/yr
pH range
5.4–7.4
Root depth
8 in min.
Fertility need
Medium
Soil texture
coarse, medium
§3c

Form & growth

Growth form
Rhizomatous
Growth rate
Slow
Lifespan
Long
Mature height
1.5 ft
Foliage texture
Medium
Foliage colour
Green
Porosity (summer)
Dense
Porosity (winter)
Dense
Flower colour
White
Fruit colour
Brown
Fire resistant
Yes
N fixation
None
Toxicity
None
§3d

Reproduction

Bloom period
Late Spring
Seed abundance
Low
Seed begins
Summer
Seed ends
Summer
Spread rate
Slow
Stratify
No
Propagation
seed, sprigs, tubers
§3e

Use & availability

Commercial availability
Contracting Only
Nursery stock
No
Palatable, human
No
Lumber
No
Christmas tree
No

§4Counties, by state

Recorded in 599 counties across 34 states/territories.

Alaska view state ↗ 1 N
Arizona view state ↗ 6 N
California view state ↗ 22 N
Colorado view state ↗ 12 N
Delaware view state ↗ 3 N
District of Columbia view state ↗ 1 N
Idaho view state ↗ 17 N
Illinois view state ↗ 3 N
Indiana view state ↗ 12 N
Kentucky view state ↗ 2 N
Maine view state ↗ 15 N
Maryland view state ↗ 1 N
Massachusetts view state ↗ 13 N
Michigan view state ↗ 64 N
Minnesota view state ↗ 31 N
Montana view state ↗ 21 N
Nevada view state ↗ 2 N
New Hampshire view state ↗ 10 N
New Jersey view state ↗ 20 N
New Mexico view state ↗ 6 N
New York view state ↗ 43 N
North Carolina view state ↗ 6 N
Ohio view state ↗ 15 N
Oregon view state ↗ 26 N
Pennsylvania view state ↗ 51 N
Rhode Island view state ↗ 3 N
South Dakota view state ↗ 1 N
Utah view state ↗ 13 N
Vermont view state ↗ 11 N
Virginia view state ↗ 68 N
Washington view state ↗ 28 N
West Virginia view state ↗ 9 N
Wisconsin view state ↗ 54 N
Wyoming view state ↗ 9 N

§5Sources & provenance

USDA PLANTS

Symbol, taxonomy, distribution, cultivation specs, native status. Public domain.

plants.usda.gov/CHUM ↗

GBIF Backbone

Canonical taxonomic identity, synonym resolution, cross-refs. CC0.

gbif.org/species/2888307 ↗

Record version

Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:

usda-plants-mt-2026-05-26

fetched 2026-05-26T20:46:58Z