General: Perennial herb from a very slender rhizome; stems spreading to erect, 5-15 (20) cm tall, unbranched, not conspicuously bent or zigzag, fringed with coarse hairs at the nodes.
Leaves: Stem leaves several (3 to 8), broadly lanceolate, 2-5 cm long, 0.5-2 cm wide, unstalked, tapering to a rounded, slightly clasping base, the margins with tiny, closely crowded teeth; basal leaves lacking.
Flowers: Inflorescence of single, stalked flowers nodding or drooping from the axils of the upper 1-5 leaves, the stalks 0.3-1 cm long, curved but not kinked, smooth; flowers greenish-purple to rose-coloured with greenish tips, saucer-shaped, of 6 similar, distinct tepals, the tepals 2-4 mm long, narrowly egg-shaped, spreading, somewhat curved back at the tip; stamens 6; pistil 1, 3-chambered.
Fruits: Berries, globe-shaped, red, 4-6 mm wide; seeds few.
Moist forests in the montane and subalpine zones; common on coastal mainland, infrequent elsewhere in BC south of 56degreeN; amphiberingian, N to AK, E to AB and S to ID and WA; E Asia.
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 to subalpine, Asian and North American forb distributed more in the Pacific than the Cordilleran region. Occurs in subalpine boreal and cool temperate climates on fresh to very moist, nitrogen-poor soils; its occurrence decreases with increasing continentality. Sporadic to scattered in mature to subalpine coniferous forests on water-shedding and water-receiving sites. Typically associated with Blechnum spicant, Dryopteris expansa, Orthilia secunda, Rhytidiopsis robusta, Vaccinium alaskaense, and V. membranaceum. An oxylophytic species characteristic of Mor humus forms.
