General: Perennial herb from a slender rhizome; flowering stems 4-15 (20) cm tall, hairy.
Leaves: Basal leaves 2 or 3, oblanceolate to oblong or elliptic, 10-25 cm long, 3-7 cm wide, sheathing at the base, shiny and slightly fleshy, variably long-soft-hairy beneath, the margins entire, hairy; stem leaves lacking, bracts 1 or 2.
Flowers: Inflorescence of solitary or rarely 2, erect flowers atop a leafless, 1- to 2-bracted, hairy stalk; flowers white, hairy, bell-shaped, about 2 cm long, of 6 similar, distinct tepals; stamens 6, the filaments loosely woolly-hairy; pistil 1, 2- or 3-chambered.
Fruits: Berries, globe- to egg-shaped, metallic blue, 6-12 mm long; seeds 10 to 15, black.
Moist to mesic forests and glades from the lowland to lower subalpine zones; common in BC south of 56degreeN; N to S AK, E to SW AB and S to MT, ID and 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 very shade-tolerant, montane to subalpine, Western North American forb distributed more in the Pacific than the Cordilleran region. Occurs in boreal and cool temperate climates on moderately dry to fresh, nitrogen-poor soils. Common in the shaded understory of coniferous forests on water-shedding and water-receiving sites. Typically associated with Hylocomium splendens, Pleurozium schreberi, ptilium crista-castrensis, Rhytidiopsis robusta, Rubus pedatus, and Vaccinium membranaceum. An oxylophytic species characteristic of Mor humus forms.
