These are two regular wildflowers that are distinguished by their pale petals, but differ in their leaf sizes.
Chickweed wintergreen
This pretty little flower is best seen in its favorite setting, beneath tall Scots pines in a remote glen in Scotland. However, it can be found on moist, mossy ground. Despite being called chickweed wintergreen (Trientalis europaea), it is neither a chickweed nor a wintergreen, but is a relative of the primrose. One or two delightful flowers rise on tall, thin stems from the middle of a whorl of broad, pale green leaves. The leaves in turn surmount a single, unbranched stem from which a few much smaller leaves grow below.
Field gromwell
Never a welcome sight to the cereal farmer because of its spreading roots, field gromwell (Lithospermum arvense) roots in rich, arable land. It is an upright, roughly hairy plant. The stem has few branches and widely spread leaves on which only the central vein is apparent. Field gromwell is a relative of the forget-me-not.
A related species, common gromwell, grows in long grass or woodland margins. It is leafier, taller and more branched, and the leaves have obvious lateral veins as well as a central vein.
The Reader’s Digest Association Inc./GID
Chickweed wintergreen is not a chickweed nor a wintergreen.
