Linnaea borealis
Details Top
| Internal ID | UUID643ff3d94a3a1557714599 |
| Scientific name | Linnaea borealis |
| Authority | L. |
| First published in | Sp. Pl. : 631 (1753) |
General Uses Top
Suggest a correction!Common products:
- Ornamental groundcover plants sold as potted seedlings, cuttings, or plugs under the common name “twinflower.” These are marketed by specialty nurseries for use in alpine, rock, forest garden, and low‑maintenance landscaping projects, often in sites requiring erosion control or a cold‑hardy groundcover.
Properties relevant to use:
- Linnaea borealis is an evergreen, mat‑forming herbaceous perennial with stems typically 5–10 cm tall that spread via rhizomes, forming a dense, low‑growing carpet. The species is cold‑hardy to USDA zones 2–6 and tolerates a range of soil types, preferring moist, well‑drained, slightly acidic to neutral soils in partial shade. Its evergreen foliage remains attractive throughout the winter, and the plant produces fragrant, pink to white, bell‑shaped flowers in early summer, adding visual and aromatic interest. The combination of low stature, dense cover, and cold tolerance enables the plant to serve as an effective groundcover in harsh climates where other species may fail, while its minimal maintenance requirements (occasional watering during establishment and occasional division to maintain vigor) suit low‑input landscaping designs.
Standards and regulation:
- No specific national or international standards or regulatory frameworks have been identified for the commercial cultivation, trade, or use of Linnaea borealis. The species is not listed under CITES or other trade restriction conventions, and no dedicated ISO, ASTM, or EN standards apply to its horticultural products.
Sustainability and sourcing:
- Linnaea borealis has a broad boreal and subarctic distribution across North America, Europe, and Asia, and its global populations are generally considered stable, with the IUCN Red List categorizing it as Least Concern. Commercial supply is obtained from cultivated stock; specialized horticultural nurseries propagate the species by seed or division, reducing reliance on wild harvest. Sustainable sourcing practices typically involve maintaining cultivated seed sources and avoiding collection from locally rare or isolated populations, as well as monitoring regional abundance where the species occurs at low density. As the plant is not subject to trade restrictions, the main conservation consideration is preventing over‑collection in areas where natural stands are limited, ensuring that commercial demand does not threaten local biodiversity.
Synonyms Top
| Scientific name | Authority | First published in |
|---|---|---|
| Linnaea australis | Hoffmanns. | Preiss-Verzeichn. Pflanzen. 7: 36 (1833) |
| Linnaea foveolata | Brenner | Meddeland. Soc. Fauna Fl. Fenn. 34: 94 (1908) |
| Linnaea amoenula | Wittr. | Meddeland. Soc. Fauna Fl. Fenn. 34: 94 (1908) |
| Linnaea albiloba | Brenner | Meddeland. Soc. Fauna Fl. Fenn. 36: 12 (1910) |
| Linnaea longiflora | Howell | Fl. N.W. Amer. : 280 (1900) |
| Linnaea sulcata | Brenner | Meddeland. Soc. Fauna Fl. Fenn. 33: 96 (1908) |
| Linnaea tenuiflora | Brenner | Meddeland. Soc. Fauna Fl. Fenn. 36: 10 (1910) |
| Linnaea tenuisignata | Brenner | Meddeland. Soc. Fauna Fl. Fenn. 36: 11 (1910) |
| Linnaea tenuisulcata | Brenner | Meddeland. Soc. Fauna Fl. Fenn. 33: 92 (1908) |
| Linnaea jugosa | Brenner | Meddeland. Soc. Fauna Fl. Fenn. 34: 91 (1908) |
| Linnaea subjugosa | Brenner | Meddeland. Soc. Fauna Fl. Fenn. 33: 91 (1908) |
| Linnaea vicina | Wittr. | Meddeland. Soc. Fauna Fl. Fenn. 33: 93 (1908) |
| Linnaea parvisignata | Brenner | Meddeland. Soc. Fauna Fl. Fenn. 36: 12 (1910) |
| Linnaea pseudoproterantha | Pamp. | Nuovo Giorn. Bot. Ital. , n.s., 17: 723 (1910) |
| Linnaea pyrrosema | Brenner | Meddeland. Soc. Fauna Fl. Fenn. 36: 13 (1910) |
| Linnaea subviolascens | Brenner | Meddeland. Soc. Fauna Fl. Fenn. 36: 10 (1910) |
| Linnaea rotundata | Brenner | Meddeland. Soc. Fauna Fl. Fenn. 36: 11 (1910) |
| Linnaea subsulcata | Brenner | Meddeland. Soc. Fauna Fl. Fenn. 33: 93 (1908) |
| Linnaea subconfluens | Brenner | Meddeland. Soc. Fauna Fl. Fenn. 33: 96 (1908) |
| Linnaea roseoalba | Brenner | Meddeland. Soc. Fauna Fl. Fenn. 36: 9 (1910) |
| Linnaea borealis f. arctica | Wittr. | |
| Linnaea americana f. candicans | House | Bull. New York State Mus. Nat. Hist. 243-244: 34 (1924) |
Common names Top
Add a new one! Suggest a correction!| Language | Common/alternative name |
|---|---|
| English | twinflower |
| Arabic | لينيا شمالية |
| Belarusian | Лінея |
| Czech | zimozel severní |
| Czech | zimozel |
| Welsh | blodyn deuben |
| Danish | linnea |
| Danish | almindelig linnæa |
| Danish | nordisk linnæa |
| Danish | linnæa |
| German | erdglöckchen |
| German | moosglöckchen |
| Estonian | harilik harakkuljus |
| Persian | لینه |
| Finnish | vanamo |
| French | linnée |
| French | linnee boreale |
| French | linnée boréale |
| fy | linnaeusklokje |
| Hebrew | ליניאה בוריאליס |
| Upper Sorbian | prawy mochowy zwónčk |
| Japanese | リンネソウ属 |
| Japanese | リンネソウ |
| Kazakh | Терістік линнея |
| Korean | 린네풀 |
| Lithuanian | Šiaurinė linėja |
| Latvian | ziemeļu linneja |
| Norwegian Bokmål | linnea |
| Norwegian Bokmål | blomsten linnea |
| Dutch | linnaeusklokje |
| Norwegian Nynorsk | linnea |
| Norwegian Nynorsk | linnaéa boreális |
| Polish | zimoziół północny |
| Polish | zimoziół |
| Punjab | لنیا |
| Russian | Линнея северная |
| se | biellodaŋas |
| se | vándádivga |
| Slovak | linnéovka severná |
| Swedish | linnea |
| Ukrainian | Ліннея |
| Vietnamese | hoa kép |
| Chinese | 北极花 |
| Chinese | 北極花 |
| Chinese | 北极林奈草 |
| Chinese | 林奈木 |
| Chinese | 林奈花 |
Subspecies (abbr. subsp./ssp.) Top
Add a new one! Suggest a correction!| Name | Authority | First published in |
|---|---|---|
| Linnaea borealis subsp. longiflora | (Torr.) Piper & Beattie | Fl. N.W. Coast : 338 (1915) |
Germination/Propagation Top
Suggest a correction or add new data!| Expose seeds to natural outdoor winter conditions for 3 months, then gradually increase light and temperature in the spring. |
| Sow seeds immediately as their viability decreases rapidly, or they best germinate when fresh. If stored, seeds might need temperature cycling and patience to germinate. |
| mainly reproduce by stolons; < 3% of seeds viable, very difficult |
Distribution (via POWO/KEW) Top
Legend for the distribution data:
- Doubtful data
- Extinct
- Introduced
- Native
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Africa click to expand
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East Tropical Africa
- Uganda
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East Tropical Africa
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Asia-temperate click to expand
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Caucasus
- North Caucasus
- Transcaucasus
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China
- China North-central
- Inner Mongolia
- Manchuria
- Xinjiang
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Eastern Asia
- Japan
- Korea
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Middle Asia
- Kazakhstan
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Mongolia
- Mongolia
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Russian Far East
- Amur
- Kamchatka
- Khabarovsk
- Kuril Islands
- Magadan
- Primorye
- Sakhalin
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Siberia
- Altay
- Buryatiya
- Chita
- Irkutsk
- Krasnoyarsk
- Tuva
- West Siberia
- Yakutskiya
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Caucasus
-
Europe click to expand
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Eastern Europe
- Baltic States
- Belarus
- Central European Russia
- East European Russia
- North European Russia
- Northwest European Russia
- Ukraine
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Middle Europe
- Austria
- Czechoslovakia
- Germany
- Netherlands
- Poland
- Switzerland
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Northern Europe
- Denmark
- Finland
- Great Britain
- Norway
- Sweden
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Southeastern Europe
- Italy
- Romania
- Yugoslavia
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Southwestern Europe
- France
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Eastern Europe
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Northern America click to expand
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Eastern Canada
- Labrador
- New Brunswick
- Newfoundland
- Nova Scotia
- Ontario
- Prince Edward Island
- Québec
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North-central U.S.A.
- Illinois
- Iowa
- Minnesota
- North Dakota
- South Dakota
- Wisconsin
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Northeastern U.S.A.
- Connecticut
- Indiana
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New York
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- Vermont
- West Virginia
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Northwestern U.S.A.
- Colorado
- Idaho
- Montana
- Oregon
- Washington
- Wyoming
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South-central U.S.A.
- New Mexico
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Southeastern U.S.A.
- Maryland
- Tennessee
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Southwestern U.S.A.
- Arizona
- California
- Utah
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Subarctic America
- Alaska
- Aleutian Islands
- Greenland
- Northwest Territorie
- Nunavut
- Yukon
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Western Canada
- Alberta
- British Columbia
- Manitoba
- Saskatchewan
-
Eastern Canada
Links to other databases Top
Suggest others/fix!| Database | ID/link to page |
|---|---|
| World Flora Online | wfo-0000358023 |
| Canadensys | 4201 |
| USDA Plants | LIBO3 |
| Tropicos | 6000003 |
| INPN | 106260 |
| Flora of Italy | 5147 |
| KEW | urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:140689-2 |
| The Plant List | kew-2337127 |
| Plantarium | 22968 |
| PaleoBotany | 111943 |
| Open Tree Of Life | 819501 |
| Observations.org | 2605 |
| NCBI Taxonomy | 77623 |
| NBN Atlas | NBNSYS0000004330 |
| Nature Serve | 2.142213 |
| IPNI | 140689-2 |
| iNaturalist | 77780 |
| GBIF | 5334220 |
| Freebase | /m/05hglr |
| WisFlora | 4080 |
| FEIS | plants/forb/linbor |
| EPPO | LNABO |
| EOL | 488733 |
| Elurikkus | 5501 |
| Calflora (Californian flora) | 10070 |
| USDA GRIN | 450725 |
| Wikipedia | Linnaea_borealis |
Genomes (via NCBI) Top
Below is displayed the reference genome only!
If you wish to browse all genomes for this plant click here.
If you wish to browse all genomes for this plant click here.
| Accession | Assembly | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Level | Submitter | Released | Coverage | Size | |
| GCA_965218665.2 | daLinBore1.hap1.2 | Chromosome | WELLCOME SANGER INSTITUTE | 2025-10-15 | 60 | 729.66 Mb |
Scientific Literature Top
Below are displayed the latest 15 articles published in PMC (PubMed Central®) and other sources (DOI number only)!
If you wish to see all the related articles click here.
If you wish to see all the related articles click here.
Phytochemical Profile Top
Add a new one!
No natural compounds are linked yet. If you wish to help please use this tool.
Collections Top
| In private collections | 0 |
| In public collections | 0 |