Pacific waterleaf
Hydrophyllaceae (Waterleaf family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Introduction
Pacific Waterleaf is found in North America from southern British Columbia south to northern California (Douglas et al. 1999). It reaches its northern limits of distribution in British Columbia. In BC, it is restricted in occurrence to the Fraser Valley (in the Abbotsford area and Chilliwack areas) and southern Vancouver Island, where t occurs in clonal patches in rich moist soils in woods and along streams (Douglas et al. 1999). Populations in the Fraser Valley are significantly threatened by expanding urban development, directly through site loss and indirectly through habitat decline.
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Species Information
General:
Perennial herb from a short or elongate rhizome; stems spreading to ascending, solitary, usually reflexed-hairy, 20-80 cm tall.
Leaves:
Mostly basal, 10-25 cm long, 6-15 cm wide, long-stalked, somewhat palmately divided into 5-7, hairy, toothed, pointed leaflets.
Flowers:
Inflorescence of moderately compact, long-stalked clusters of funnel-shaped flowers; flower stalks 5-12 mm long; corollas green to greenish-white to blue or purple, 5-7 mm long, stalked, 5-lobed, the lobes 3-4 mm long; styles and stamens protruding beyond the corolla; calyces long-hairy on the margins, the lobes lanceolate.
Fruits:
Capsules, round; seeds 1-3.
Illustration
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
Habitat and Range
Moist woodlands and streambanks in the lowland zone; rare on S Vancouver Island and the lower Fraser Valley; S to N CA.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Hydrophyllum viridulum G.N. Jones
Taxonomic Keys
1. Leaflets entire or divided near the apex; rhizomes scarcely evident above ground..........................H. capitatum
1. Leaflets coarsely toothed along the margins; rhizomes usually conspicuous. 2. Leaf blades scarcely longer than wide, with 5 (7) segments, all but the lowermost pair usually confluent, the flower stalks 5-12 mm long..................................H. tenuipes 2. Leaf blades evidently longer than wide, with 7-15 segments, only the upper ones confluent; the flower stalks 2-7 mm long......................................H. fendleri Source: Illustrated Flora of British Columbia |