General: Perennial herb from a slender, pale rhizome; stems erect to arched-ascending, 20-60 cm tall, finely spreading-hairy.
Leaves: Stem leaves 5 to 11, alternate (often in 2 rows), flat to folded, lanceolate to oblong-elliptic, 5-15 cm long, 2-4 cm wide, tapering to a sometimes weakly clasping base, unstalked, short-hairy on under surface, the margins entire; basal leaves lacking.
Flowers: Inflorescence an unbranched, 2- to 7-cm long, terminal cluster of 5 to 10 (15), spreading, stalked flowers, the stalks at least as long as the flowers; flowers creamy-white, star-shaped, of 6 similar, distinct tepals, the tepals 4-7 mm long, narrowly oblong to lanceolate, spreading; stamens 6, shorter than tepals; pistil 1, 3-chambered.
Fruits: Berries, globe-shaped, at first greenish-yellow striped with blue-purple, eventually dark blue to reddish-black, 7-10 mm wide; seeds usually 1 or 2.
Moist to mesic (occasionally dry) forests, streambanks, clearings and meadows in the montane to lower alpine zones; common throughout BC, except the north coast; N to AK, YT and NT, E to NF and S to MA, PA, VA, TN, AR, OK, NM, AZ 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)
