General: Perennial herb from widespread slender rhizomes and tufts of fibrous roots; stems 1 to several, erect, 50-80 (100) cm tall, unbranched below inflorescence, smooth or becoming so.
Leaves: Basal leaves simple, long-stalked (to 45 cm), 10-30 cm wide, palmately 5- to 11-lobed, the segments broadly wedge-shaped, margins irregularly cut to sharp-toothed, the veins conspicuous, smooth above, usually somewhat hairy and paler below; stem leaves 1 or 2, alternate, short-stalked, reduced toward top of stem.
Flowers: Inflorescence many-flowered, terminal, somewhat flat-topped clusters, the stalks of the inflorescence 10-50 cm tall, the bracts small, linear-lanceolate; petals absent; sepals 3-5 (-7), greenish-white, concave-cupped, broadly egg-shaped, clawed, 3-6 mm long; stamens 50-100, the filaments white, 5-10 mm long, the outer ones 15-20 and narrowly spoon-shaped, the inner not dilated; pistils about 15.
Fruits: Achene-like utricles in a cluster, papery, 3-4 mm long, prominently veined on the 4 angles, unstalked; beaks 0.4-0.8 mm long, curved or hooked.
Moist forests in the lowland and montane zones; common on Vancouver Island, infrequent on mainland coast north to 53ÝÜN, rare in SE BC; S to MO, PA, FL, NM, AZ, ID, OR and CA.
Ecological Framework for Trautvetteria caroliniensis
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-tolerant/intolerant, submontane to montane, Asian and transcontinental North American forb (absent in the Central region). Occurs in cool temperate and cool mesothermal climates on fresh to very moist, nitrogenrich soils; its occurrence decreases with increasing latitude, elevation and continentality. Scattered, occasionally dominant, in broadleaved forests on water-receiving sites (alluvium, floodplain, and stream-edge); extends to water-collecting sites. Tolerates fluctuating groundwater tables. Often associated with Athyriumfilix-femina, Boykinia elata, Maianthemum dilatatum, Polystichum munitum, Rubus spectabilis, and Tiarella trifoliata. A nitrophytic species characteristic of Moder and Mull humus forms.
