General: Perennial, slightly woody herb from a rhizome; stems slender, erect or nearly so, simple or sparingly branched, 5-20 cm tall, smooth, reddish.
Leaves: Generally all stem leaves, 1 to several per whorl, leathery, evergreen, lanceolate to elliptic, 2-6 cm long, toothed or entire, smooth, main veins somewhat white-bordered; stalks 5-8 mm long.
Flowers: Inflorescence of 1 to 3 nodding flowers in terminal umbel-like cluster, flower stem more or less smooth to pimply; flower stalks 2-6 cm long; bracts widely egg-shaped, dry and translucent, usually persistent after flowering; petals 5, distinct, 5-7 mm long, white or pinkish, waxy, spreading, nearly circular, concave; sepals 5, distinct, rounded, margins jagged, about 5 mm long; ovaries superior; styles in depressed centre of ovary; stamens 10; filament bases widened and swollen, completely hairy.
1. Flowers generally 1-3; stamen filaments hairy over entire swollen portion of base; leaves lanceolate to elliptic.......................C. menziesii
1. Flowers usually more than 3; stamen filaments hairy on margins only at the swollen portion of the base; leaves oblanceolate..................C. umbellata
Source: Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
Habitat / Range
Mesic to dry forests in the lowland and montane zones; infrequent in SW BC, rare in SE BC; S to 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)
A shade-tolerant, submontane to montane, Western North American evergreen shrub distributed more in the Pacific than the Cordilleran region. Occurs in maritime to submaritime cool mesothermal climates on moderately dry to fresh, nitrogenmedium soils; its occurrence decreases with increasing elevation and continentality. Sporadic in coniferous stands on water-shedding sites (less often on water-receiving sites). Usually associated with Hylocomium splendens, Kindbergia oregana, Rhytidiadelphus loreus, and Rhytidiopsis robusta. Characteristic of mesothermal coniferous forests.
