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{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| name = Twinflower
| image = Linnaea borealis.jpg
| image_width = 240px
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Dicotyledon|Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Dipsacales]]
| familia = [[Caprifoliaceae]] (Linnaeaceae)
| genus = '''''Linnaea'''''
| genus_authority = [[Jan Frederik Gronovius|Gronov.]]
| species = '''''L. borealis'''''
| binomial = ''Linnaea borealis''
| binomial_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|L.]]
}}
'''''Linnaea borealis''''', commonly known as '''Twinflower''' (sometimes written '''twin flower''') is a woodland [[subshrub]], treated either in the family [[Caprifoliaceae]], or sometimes in its own family '''Linnaeaceae'''. The stems are slender, pubescent and prostrate, growing to 20-40 [[centimetre|cm]] long, with opposite [[evergreen]] rounded oval [[leaf|leaves]] 3-10 [[millimetre|mm]] long and 2-7 mm broad. The flowering stems curve erect, to 4-8 cm tall, leafless except at the base; the [[flower]]s are paired, pendulous, 7-12 mm long, pale pink with a five-lobed corolla.
Its common name is from the paired flowers. It is one of few species to be named after [[Carolus Linnaeus]], the naming having been formally made by Linnaeus' teacher, [[Jan Frederik Gronovius]]. It is said to have been Linnaeus' favourite plant; he took the flower as his own personal symbol when he was raised to the Swedish nobility in 1757. Of it, Linnaeus said "''Linnaea'' was named by the celebrated Gronovius and is a plant of Lapland, lowly, insignificant, disregarded, flowering but for a brief time - from Linnaeus, who resembles it".
It has a [[circumpolar]] distribution in moist subarctic to cool temperate [[forest]]s, extending further south at high altitudes in [[mountain]]s, in [[Europe]] south to the [[Alps]], in [[Asia]] south to northern [[Japan]], and North America south to northern [[California]] and [[Arizona]] in the west, and [[Tennessee]] in the [[Appalachian Mountains]] in the east.
It is the only species in its genus, but there are three recognised subspecies:
*''Linnaea borealis'' subsp. ''borealis'' - Europe
*''Linnaea borealis'' subsp. ''americana'' - North America
*''Linnaea borealis'' subsp. ''longiflora'' - Asia
The flower is the provincial emblem of [[Småland]] in [[Sweden]], Linnaeus' home province.
In [[Great Britain]], the twinflower grows in mainly open [[pine]] woodlands in [[Scotland]] and northernmost [[England]]. [[Forester]]s consider this plant to be an [[indicator species]] of [[ancient woodland]]s, often found in association with [[Creeping Lady's Tresses]]. It is listed as "nationally scarce". It is found in about 50 sites around the country, with most situated in the woods around the [[Cairngorms]]; the southernmost locations are four sites in [[Northumberland]] and one in [[County Durham]]. The sparseness of the sites is responsible for the continued decline of the flower in the country.
The twinflower has given its name to the popular Swedish feminine given name Linnéa or ''Linnea'' ([[International Phonetic Alphabet|pronounced]] [line:´a]).
==References==
*''The Linnaeus Link Project'' in the spring 2005 edition of ''Nature First'', the magazine for [[Natural History Museum]] members.
*''Species and habitat conservation'' from Plantlife.org.uk [http://www.plantlife.org.uk/html/species_and_conservation/species_and_conservation_bfb_casestudies.htm#twinflower] and [http://www.plantlife.org.uk/html/scotland/Scotland3yearspage2.htm#twinflower]
* Twinflower species profile [http://www.treesforlife.org.uk/tfl.twinflower.html]
{{Commons|Linnaea borealis}}
<gallery>
Image:Linnaea_borealis_15030.JPG
Image:Twinflower.jpg
Image:Illustration Linnaea borealis0.jpg
</gallery>
[[Category:Caprifoliaceae]]
[[Category:Alpine flora]]
[[Category:Flora of Idaho]]
| color = lightgreen
| name = Twinflower
| image = Linnaea borealis.jpg
| image_width = 240px
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Dicotyledon|Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Dipsacales]]
| familia = [[Caprifoliaceae]] (Linnaeaceae)
| genus = '''''Linnaea'''''
| genus_authority = [[Jan Frederik Gronovius|Gronov.]]
| species = '''''L. borealis'''''
| binomial = ''Linnaea borealis''
| binomial_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|L.]]
}}
'''''Linnaea borealis''''', commonly known as '''Twinflower''' (sometimes written '''twin flower''') is a woodland [[subshrub]], treated either in the family [[Caprifoliaceae]], or sometimes in its own family '''Linnaeaceae'''. The stems are slender, pubescent and prostrate, growing to 20-40 [[centimetre|cm]] long, with opposite [[evergreen]] rounded oval [[leaf|leaves]] 3-10 [[millimetre|mm]] long and 2-7 mm broad. The flowering stems curve erect, to 4-8 cm tall, leafless except at the base; the [[flower]]s are paired, pendulous, 7-12 mm long, pale pink with a five-lobed corolla.
Its common name is from the paired flowers. It is one of few species to be named after [[Carolus Linnaeus]], the naming having been formally made by Linnaeus' teacher, [[Jan Frederik Gronovius]]. It is said to have been Linnaeus' favourite plant; he took the flower as his own personal symbol when he was raised to the Swedish nobility in 1757. Of it, Linnaeus said "''Linnaea'' was named by the celebrated Gronovius and is a plant of Lapland, lowly, insignificant, disregarded, flowering but for a brief time - from Linnaeus, who resembles it".
It has a [[circumpolar]] distribution in moist subarctic to cool temperate [[forest]]s, extending further south at high altitudes in [[mountain]]s, in [[Europe]] south to the [[Alps]], in [[Asia]] south to northern [[Japan]], and North America south to northern [[California]] and [[Arizona]] in the west, and [[Tennessee]] in the [[Appalachian Mountains]] in the east.
It is the only species in its genus, but there are three recognised subspecies:
*''Linnaea borealis'' subsp. ''borealis'' - Europe
*''Linnaea borealis'' subsp. ''americana'' - North America
*''Linnaea borealis'' subsp. ''longiflora'' - Asia
The flower is the provincial emblem of [[Småland]] in [[Sweden]], Linnaeus' home province.
In [[Great Britain]], the twinflower grows in mainly open [[pine]] woodlands in [[Scotland]] and northernmost [[England]]. [[Forester]]s consider this plant to be an [[indicator species]] of [[ancient woodland]]s, often found in association with [[Creeping Lady's Tresses]]. It is listed as "nationally scarce". It is found in about 50 sites around the country, with most situated in the woods around the [[Cairngorms]]; the southernmost locations are four sites in [[Northumberland]] and one in [[County Durham]]. The sparseness of the sites is responsible for the continued decline of the flower in the country.
The twinflower has given its name to the popular Swedish feminine given name Linnéa or ''Linnea'' ([[International Phonetic Alphabet|pronounced]] [line:´a]).
==References==
*''The Linnaeus Link Project'' in the spring 2005 edition of ''Nature First'', the magazine for [[Natural History Museum]] members.
*''Species and habitat conservation'' from Plantlife.org.uk [http://www.plantlife.org.uk/html/species_and_conservation/species_and_conservation_bfb_casestudies.htm#twinflower] and [http://www.plantlife.org.uk/html/scotland/Scotland3yearspage2.htm#twinflower]
* Twinflower species profile [http://www.treesforlife.org.uk/tfl.twinflower.html]
{{Commons|Linnaea borealis}}
<gallery>
Image:Linnaea_borealis_15030.JPG
Image:Twinflower.jpg
Image:Illustration Linnaea borealis0.jpg
</gallery>
[[Category:Caprifoliaceae]]
[[Category:Alpine flora]]
[[Category:Flora of Idaho]]
