General: Perennial herb from a short rootstock and fibrous root; stems ascending to erect, usually solitary, simple, 10-30 cm tall.
Leaves: Basal leaves egg-shaped to elliptic, 1-2.5 cm long, tapered basally, entire, the stalks from subequal to 3 times longer than the blade; stem leaves solitary, reduced, lanceolate, 0.7-1.8 cm long, located below midlength.
Flowers: Inflorescence of single terminal flowers; petals 5, white, 4-7 (10) mm long, usually 5-veined, outer veins less conspicuous than the inner ones; sterile stamens with a thickened base flared upwards and divided into 7 slender segments.
Fruits: Capsules, egg-shaped, 7-11 mm long; seeds numerous.
Notes: This species might better be treated as a smaller-flowered variety of P. palustris.
1. Petals fringed or comb-like on the lower half...................P. fimbriata
1. Petals not frnged or comb-like on the lower half.
2. Flowering stems bractless or with a near-basal bract; petals 1-3 (5) veined.............P. kotzebuei
2. Flowering stems usually with a bract above the level of the basal leaves; petals 5-13-veined.
3. Petals 7-13-veined, 6-12 mm long; sterile stamens cleft into up to 15 slender divisions; leaves often blunt or heart-shaped at base...................P. palustris
3. Petals usually 5-veined, usually 4-8 mm long; sterile stamens cleft into up to 7 slender divisions; leaves tapered at base....................P. parviflora
Source: Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
Habitat / Range
Moist to wet meadows, streambanks, fens and bogs in the montane zone; infrequent in E BC, rare northward; N to SE AK, E to NF and S to WI, SD, ID and MT.
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)
