General: Perennial herb from a strong but slender rhizome; stems erect, 30-70 cm tall, few-branched, spreading curly-hairy.
Leaves: Stem leaves alternate, several to many, broadly to narrowly egg-shaped, 3-10 cm long, unstalked, somewhat heart-shaped to rounded and somewhat clasping at the base, often spreading-hairy below, smooth above, the margins fringed with spreading hairs; basal leaves lacking.
Flowers: Inflorescence of 1 or 2, stalked flowers drooping from branch tips, the stalks sturdy and hairy; flowers creamy-white, narrowly bell-shaped, of 6 similar, distinct tepals, the tepals 8-15 mm long, lance-oblong, flaring from the middle or lower; stamens 6, equalling or slightly longer than the tepals; pistil 1, 3-chambered; styles smooth.
Fruits: Berries, squat-globe-shaped but somewhat 3-lobed, at first green, becoming orange to red, 7-10 mm long, the surface velvety and distinctly warty-roughened; seeds 6 to 12.
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.
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)
Moist to dry forests, forest edges, thickets and clearings in the steppe and montane zones; common in BC east of the Coast-Cascade Mountains and S of 56degreeN; E to MB and S to SD, NM, AZ and OR.
