General:
Perennial herb from a woody rhizome; stems erect, branched above, 120-180 cm tall, sparsely minutely-hairy to woolly-hairy, glandular, especially above.
Leaves:
Alternate, stalked, the stalks to 40 cm long, angled, grooved on stem side, basal wings clasping stem; leaves large, to 80 cm long, twice 3-parted, leaflets heart-egg-shaped, 5-18 cm long, 7-23 cm wide, usually 3-lobed and again shallowly and irregularly lobed and toothed, the teeth gland-tipped, palmately veined, pointy-tipped, fine-hairy beneath, smooth above, margins fringed.
Flowers:
Inflorescence a terminal cluster of 4- to 14-flowered, raceme-like branches, 7-17 cm long, the inflorescence stalks subtended by 3 bracts, the central bract largest, lance awl-shaped; inflorescence glandular-hairy; flower stalks 1-8 mm long; petals absent; sepals 5, white or pinkish, egg-shaped, early deciduous; stamens 20-30, cream-coloured, showy, the outer sometimes broadened; pistils 1 to 3, glandular-hairy.
Fruits:
Follicles, usually 1 in upper flowers, often 2 or rarely 3 in lower flowers of racemes, oblong, 8-12 mm long, somewhat flattened, thin-walled, finely glandular-hairy; unstalked or stalks to 2 mm long; seeds reddish to purplish-brown, lens-shaped, about 2
If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.
Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
Origin Status | Provincial Status | BC List (Red Blue List) | COSEWIC |
---|---|---|---|
Native | S1S2 | Red | E (May 2018) |
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Actaea elata var. elata (Nutt.) Prantl
Cimicifuga elata Nutt.