General: Annual or perennial dioecious (male and female flowers on separate plants) herb from slender rhizomes and simple to branched crowns; stems erect, several, simple (below the inflorescence), 15-30 cm tall, smooth.
Leaves: Basal leaves linear to egg-shaped, at least some arrowhead-shaped, with the lobes pointing outwards, smooth, the blades 1-5 cm long, the stalks often longer than the blades; stem leaves alternate, similar but reduced upward, nearly unstalked.
Flowers: Inflorescence of unisexual flowers in an open, large but narrow panicle; flower stalks jointed near the base of the flower; perianths 1-1.5 mm long, reddish to yellowish, the inner segments tightly enclosing the achenes, lacking a grain-like swelling.
Fruits: Achenes, golden brown, smooth, about 1.5 mm long.
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)
