General: Perennial herb from scaly rhizomes; flowering stems 20-50 cm tall, with a few leaves, glandular-hairy above.
Leaves: Basal leaves heart-shaped, 3-12 cm wide, about as long, simple and shallowly to deeply 3- to 5-lobed or compound with 3 stalked leaflets that are lobed or deeply cleft, almost to the base, toothed, hairy and usually glandular, the stalks longer than blades, stipules about 1 cm long; stem leaves similar to the basal, 2 or 3, reduced; stipules to 1 mm long.
Flowers: Inflorescence a narrow, many-flowered, terminal cluster, up to 15 cm long, densely glandular-hairy; petals 3-4 mm long, thread-like; calyces bell-shaped, 1.5-2.5 mm long, glandular-hairy, hypanthium bell-shaped, free of ovary, lobed 1/2 to 2/3 length, lobes irregular, the upper lobe largest; stamens 10.
Fruits: Capsules, borne horizontally, one valve 3-5 mm long, the other 7-10 mm long; seeds blackish, about 1.5 mm long, shining, nearly smooth.
Notes: Three infraspecific taxa have been recognized. These taxa are widely sympatric but var. trifoliata generally occurs at lower elevations (up to 650 m), while var. unifoliata generally occurs above 650 m. Variety laciniata is a hybrid between the latter two and occurs frequently on Vancouver Island and sporadically on the mainland.
1. Leaves simple, shallowly to deeply 3- to 5-lobed........... var. unifoliata (Hook.) Kurtz1.
1. Leaves compound, with 3 stalked leaflets.
2. Leaflets lobed............. var. trifoliata
2. Leaflets deeply cleft, almost to the base............. var. laciniata (Hook.) Wheelock
Moist forests, meadows and streambanks in the lowland and montane to subalpine zones; common throughout BC south of 58degreeN; N to the Aleutian Islands and S AK, E to AB and S to MT, ID 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)
Shade-tolerant/intolerant, submontane to subalpine, Western North American forb distributed more in the Pacific than in the Cordilleran region. Occurs in hypermaritime to maritime climate on fresh to very moist, nitrogen-rich soils; occurrence decreases with increasing latitude, elevation, and continentality. Scattered to abundant on waterreceiving sites that support a very productive growth of Douglas-fir, Sitka spruce, true firs, and western redcedar. Often grow with Achlys triphylla, Athyrium filix-femina, Galium triflorum, Polystichum munitum, Rubus paroifIorus, and R. spectabilis. A nitrophytic species characteristic of Moder and Mull humus forms.
