Twinflower -- Linnaea borealis

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Linnaea borealis, twinflower (English), giktgräs (Swedish)

To call twinflower an unassuming plant is to take a hammer and hit the nail square. A prostate vine with small evergreen leaves, it only achieves a few inches when the flower stalks reach their full height in early summer. Yet the diminutive twinflower was closer to the heart of Carl Linnaeus, the famed Swedish botanist credited with formally establishing the standard scientific naming system, than any other plant. It is of course named after him, but what is maybe even more telling of his high regard is that twinflower features prominently on his own von Linné family crest.

“My flower, twinflower (Linnaea borealis), with its pairs of drooping flowers, grew in the deep forest”

Carl Linnaeus

Öland, Sweden June 1741

The English common name for the plant is perfect. Twin pink-white flowers held aloft a maze of vine with twin oppositely arranged leaves. One of the circumpolar plants of the north, twinflower is found in a variety of habitats throughout an impressive geographic range. It is most at home sprawling through moss on the floor of thickly canopied evergreen forests. But a delicate appearance belies what is a surprisingly robust plant. It also grows on exposed meadows in the far north and sunbaked slopes through the southern end of the Rocky Mountains, places where many of its forest cohabitants would quickly shrivel. I have been surprised by them along dusty sun-filled trails on the east slope of the Cascade Range. Mopping sweat and looking at twinflower, I suspect that the small leathery leaves play a role in allowing it to survive on the margins of the dry lands by limiting water loss.

Taxonomically isolated until recently, twinflower is now understood to be more properly grouped with a handful of species from previously distinct genera. Superficially, many of these plants possess similarities and yet twinflower retains a unique appearance in addition to a unique geographic range within the expanded genus Linnaea. What marks many of these plants, and others within their broader family, is a tendency toward highly fragrant flowers. They are all in the honeysuckle family (Caprifoliaceae), and the sweet scent of a honeysuckle flowering on a trellis is probably familiar to most. Twinflower offers a pleasing scent, but only for those willing to get down on its level.

Bringing oneself closer to the ground is something that should be done more often. There is so much to appreciate at our feet. We move too fast and act thoughtlessly. Taking the time to investigate the minute can reset a worldview and reframe a relationship. A sprawling mat of twinflower in full bloom is a remarkable sight to behold from a position humbly taken.