E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

General:
Perennial herb from slender rhizomes and stolons, sometimes forming large patches; stems ascending to erect, solitary to several, simple from the nodes of the rhizomes, 10-25 cm tall; vegetative stoloniferous branches up to 40 cm long.

Leaves:
Basal leaves many, egg-shaped, spoon-shaped or rounded, the blades 1.5-3 cm long, 2-20 mm wide, the stalks as long or longer than the blades; stem leaves several, lanceolate to egg-shaped or rounded, alternate, reduced, narrower than the basal leaves.

Flowers:
Inflorescence of bracteate, terminal racemes with 3-8 flowers on stalks 5-12 mm long; petals 5, pinkish or white with pink veins, 7-15 mm long; sepals 2, unequal, 2-3 mm long; stamens 5.

Fruits:
Capsules, egg-shaped, 3-valved; seeds 2, black, shiny, 1-1.5 mm long.

Notes:
Two intergrading taxa occur in BC:

1. Basal leaf blades narrowly egg-shaped to spoon-shaped, usually less than 5 mm wide; the common phase in BC........................ var. parvifolia.

1. Basal leaf blades rounded, usually more than 5 mm wide; infrequent along the coast......................var. Flagellaris (Bong.) C. L. Hitchc.