General: Perennial herb from a slender, tuber-tipped rhizome; stems erect, 10-50 cm tall, simple or branched, glabrous or appressed short-hairy.
Leaves: Opposite, heart- to egg-shaped, 2-6 cm long, more or less entire to toothed, short-hairy on the lower surface, tips pointed; stalks 1.5-4 cm long, with narrow wings.
Flowers: Inflorescence of terminal clusters of 8-12 flowers, often with 1 or 2 linear bracts at the base; flower stalks spreading to erect, becoming reflexed and about equalling the fruit; hypanthium 0.3-0.5 mm long; petals 2, white to pale pink, 1-1.5 mm long, erect, deeply notched; sepals 2, 1-2 mm long, bent downward; stigmas 2-lobed.
Fruits: Capsules, top- or pear-shaped, about 2 mm long, hooked-hairy, 1-chambered; seeds 1, glabrous.
Notes: Two subspecies occur in BC:
1. Stems glabrous; leaf bases heart-shaped; margins toothed; plants from throughout BC.................. ssp. alpina
1. Stems hairy; leaf bases from nearly heart-shaped to blunt; margins nearly entire to toothed; plants from coastal and S BC................... ssp. pacifica (Asch. & Magnus) Raven
Moist to wet forests in the lowland and montane zones; frequent throughout BC; circumboreal, N to AK and NT, E to NF and S to GA, SD, CO and CA; Eurasia.
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/intolerant, submontane to montane. Western North American forb distributed more in the Pacific than the Cordilleran region. Occurs in maritime to submaritime cool mesothermal climates on fresh to very moist, nitrogen-rich soils, often with a fluctuating groundwater table. Its occurrence decreases with increasing elevation, precipitation, and continentality. Common on waterÂreceiving (flooded) sites in the herbaceous understory of broad-leaved forests (black cottonwood, broad-leaved maple, or red alder); often inhabits exposed mineral soil. A nitrophytic species characteristic of Moder and Mull humus forms.
