General: Annual, biennial, or short-lived perennial herb from coarse, fibrous roots; stems single, erect, 20-60 (90) cm tall, simple or few-branched, stiff-hairy or nearly smooth, hollow.
Leaves: Basal heart- to kidney-shaped, 3-parted to deeply 3-lobed, the blades 2-6 cm long, 3-8 cm wide, the segments again lobed, the ultimate segments elliptic to lanceolate, margins few-toothed, tips pointed to rounded or blunt, the stalks up to 20 cm long; stem leaves few, alternate, the upper transitional to linear-lanceolate bracts.
Flowers: Inflorescence of few-flowered terminal and axillary cymes; flower stalks to 6 cm long; receptacle smooth; petals 5, distinct, yellow, 2-4 mm long, 1-2 mm wide, nectary on upper surface, the nectary scale as wide as long, smooth; sepals 5, bent back or sometimes spreading, 2-3.5 mm long, 1-2 mm wide, early deciduous, hairy; stamens 10-20; pistils (5) 10-30.
Fruits: Achenes, several to many in a globe-shaped head 4-7 mm long, 4-7 mm wide, the achenes egg-shaped, 2-2.8 mm long, 1.6-2 mm wide, smooth or sparsely stiff-hairy, margins prominent, keeled; beaks persistent, lanceolate, 1.2-2.5 mm long, curved and hooked.
Notes: Recognition of infraspecific entities does not appear warranted.
Moist meadows, streambanks and open woodlands in the lowland, steppe and montane zones; common in BC south of 56degreeN, rare in NW BC; N to AK, E to AB and S to NM, AZ and CA.
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)
A shade-intolerant, submontane to subalpine, Asian and North American forb distributed more in the Pacific than the Cordilleran region. Occurs on fresh to very moist, nitrogenrich soils within boreal, wet temperate, and cool mesothermal climates; its occurrence decreases with increasing elevation. Tolerates flooding and fluctuating groundwater tables. Occasional on exposed mineral soils in forest openings or open-canopy broad-leaved forests on water-receiving sites; commonly inhabits recently deposited organic matter-rich alluvium. A nitrophytic species characteristic of Moder and Mull humus forms.
