General: Perennial herb from a slender rhizome; stems 5-25 cm tall, hairy at least in the upper part.
Leaves: Leaves of flowering stems 2 to 3, alternate, egg-shaped, rounded to somewhat heart-shaped at the base, 3-10 cm long, 2-5 cm wide, short-stalked to nearly unstalked, smooth above, hairy beneath, the margins entire, fringed with long hairs; basal leaves lacking.
Flowers: Inflorescence a loose, cylindrical, terminal cluster of several to many spreading flowers; flowers cream to white, wheel-shaped, 4-6 mm across, of 4 similar, distinct tepals, the tepals oblong, blunt, about 2 mm long, becoming reflexed; stamens 4, shorter than tepals; pistil 1, 2-chambered.
Fruits: Berries, globe-shaped, at first green mottled with brown, then pale red, 3-4 mm wide; seeds 1 or 2.
Moist to mesic forests and clearings in the montane zone; frequent in E BC, north of 53degreeN; N to NT, E to NF and S to ME, PA, NC, GA, TN, IA, NE and WY.
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)
