General: Perennial herb from a rhizome, without stolons; stems lacking in spring but developing aerial stems as the season progresses, ascending, usually hairy, 2-10 cm tall.
Leaves: Basal leaves egg-shaped to heart-shaped, the margins blunt-toothed, the blades 0.5-4 cm long, smooth or hairy, the stalks 5-7 cm long; stem leaves similar, sometimes few; stipules jagged or sharp-toothed (at least basally), reddish-brown or greenish, often with reddish-brown flecks, 3-10 mm long.
Flowers: Inflorescence of single, axillary flowers; petals 5, blue to deep violet, lower petal 8-16 mm long including the 4- to 8-mm long spur, the spur not pouched, lowest 3 petals often whitish with purple markings, lateral pair white-bearded; sepals 5, lanceolate, 1/3 to 1/2 as long as the petals; style heads bearded with short to long hairs.
Fruits: Capsules, smooth, 6-11 mm long; seeds dark brown.
Notes: A highly variable species in which a number of morphological phases have received dubious taxonomic recognition. A compact, dwarf form, smooth, with dark blue flowers, that occurs sporadically at high elevations has been described as var. bellidifolia (Greene) Harrington.
Dry to moist open woods, meadows, and roadsides; common throughout BC in all vegetation zones; N to S AK, YT and NT, E to PQ and NS and S to ME, NY, MI, MN, IO, SD, NM, UT, NV and CA.
