General: Perennial herb from a rhizome; stems erect to spreading, glabrous, 0.3-1.0 m tall, branching; plants with milky juice.
Leaves: Opposite, stalked to subsessile or sessile, oblong-egg-shaped or lanceolate, yellow-green, 5-11 cm long, except sometimes the basal leaves stalked but not heart-shaped at the base, ascending.
Flowers: Inflorescence of compound, flat-topped clusters; corollas greenish-white to white, 2-4.5 mm long, the corollas less than twice as long as calyx, lobes erect or slightly spreading.
Fruits: Long cylindric pods, usually greater than 12-18 cm long, sickle-shaped; seeds with tufts of cottony hairs (coma) 2-3 cm long.
Notes: The recognition of A. sibiricum and its segregates does not appear warranted.
1. Corollas greenish-white to white, 2-4.5 mm long, usually less than twice as long as the calyces; leaves ascending................. A. cannabinum
1. Corollas pinkish, 3.5-10 mm long, usually more than twice as long as the calyces; leaves spreading to drooping.
2. Calyces usually at least half as long as the corollas, lobes abruptly sharp-pointed to long-pointed ............................x A. floribundum
2. Calyces usually less than half as long as the corollas, lobes obtuse .....................A. androsaemifolium
Habitat / Range
Dry roadsides, ditches, pond and lake edges, fields, waste areas, shrublands and forest openings in the lowland, steppe and montane zones; frequent in BC south of 55degreeN; N to NT, E to NF and S to FL, TX and CA.
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range. (Updated August, 2013)
