General: Perennial herb from a slightly thickened taproot; stems erect, solitary, branched above, long-hairy, exuding milky juice when broken, 15-80 cm tall.
Leaves: Basal leaves arrowhead-shaped, long stalked, blades irregularly toothed, glabrous, 3.5-17 cm long, 0.5-11 cm wide; stem leaves similar below, middle and lower ones with winged stalks, becoming short-stalked or unstalked, reduced upwards.
Flowers: Heads with strap-shaped flowers, numerous in an open or round-topped inflorescence; involucres 10-13 mm tall; involucral bracts lance-oblong, the principal ones about 8, sparsely long-hairy; ray flowers white or sometimes pinkish.
Fruits: Achenes finely lined between the nerves, cylindric or tapering to the summit, glabrous, 4-6 mm long; pappus of brownish hairlike bristles.
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, submontane to montane, Pacific North American forb. Occurs in maritime to submaritime wet cool mesothermal climates on fresh to moist, nitrogenrich soils (Moder and Mull humus forms); its occurrence decreases with increasing elevation and continentality. Grows on water-receiving and water-collecting sites (usually stream-edge sites) where it inhabits recently deposited mineral materials. Sporadic in opencanopy broad-leaved forests; often associated with Adiantum pedatum, Aruncus dioicus, and Oplopanax homdus on flooded sites. A nitrophytic species characteristic of Moder and Mull humus forms.
