General: Perennial herb from a rhizome; stems erect, 30-70 cm tall, woody at base.
Leaves: Basal leaves compound, of 3 major divisions that each have 3-5 leaflets or segments, 1 per stem, 30-50 cm long; ultimate segments saw-toothed, 5-12 cm long, egg-shaped-oblong.
Flowers: Inflorescence of 3-7 globose umbels in flat-topped to paniculate clusters; flowers greenish-white.
Fruits: Dark purple berries, 2-5 seeded, 6-8 mm wide.
Moist streamsides, floodplains and forest in the montane zone; frequent throughout C and S BC east of the Coast-Cascade Mountains, infrequent northward, E to NB and NS and S to TN, GA, CO and WA.
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)
A shade-tolerant/intolerant, montane, transcontinental North American forb (absent from the Pacific region). Occurs in continental montane boreal and cool temperate climates on fresh to very moist, nitrogen-rich soils. Scattered to plentiful in continental forests (persists in clearings); sporadic on water-shedding and water-receiving sites in the coast-interior ecotone. Often associated with Disporum hooken, Gymnocarpium dryopteris, Oplopanax horridus, Smilacina racemosa, and S. stellata. A nitrophytic species characteristic of Moder and Mull humus forms.
