General:
Robust perennial herb from stout short-creeping rhizome; stems several, erect to ascending, 1-2 m tall, smooth.

Leaves:
Alternate, 10-60 cm long, long-stalked, the lower leaves usually three times compound, the leaflets egg-shaped to narrowly oblong, sharply double-toothed and pointed, 3-15 cm long, the upper leaves smaller and less compounded; green and usually smooth above, hairy and paler below.

Flowers:
Inflorescence a large, elongated, terminal panicle with numerous spike-like branches of tiny, short-stalked flowers; male and female flowers on separate plants; corollas white, the petals 5, oblong to egg-shaped, about 1 mm long; calyces 5-toothed, the teeth shorter than the petals; ovaries superior; pistils 3 (4 or 5) in female flowers; stamens 15 to 30 in male flowers.

Fruits:
Follicles, bent back, more or less cylindric, somewhat leathery, straw-coloured, smooth, about 3 mm long; seeds 2 to 4 per follicle, about 2 mm long.

Source:  The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

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