General: Perennial herb from a stout rhizome or branched stem-base with fibrous roots; stems smooth except short-hairy at the nodes, 30-120 cm tall.
Leaves: Basal leaves few, pinnately cleft with 1-2 pairs of lateral segments; stem leaves opposite, larger, with 1-4 pairs of lateral segments, enlarged terminal segment up to 10 cm long and 7 cm wide, usually coarsely toothed, leaves becoming short-stalked upwards.
Flowers: Inflorescence a compact, flat-topped cluster with usually male/female flowers; corollas white or pink, 4.5-7 mm long, lobed, the lobes 1/2 as long as the tube; calyces with 12-18 feathery segments; stamens well exserted.
Fruits: Achenes, egg-shaped to more oblong, 3-6 mm long, 2-2.5 mm wide, smooth.
Moist streambanks, meadows, forests and avalanche tracks in all but the lowland zone; common throughout BC; N to AK, YT and NT, E to AB and S to MT, ID 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)
Shade-tolerant/intolerant, submontane to alpine, Western North American forb distributed equally in the Pacific and Cordilleran regions. Occurs on fresh to very moist, nitrogen-rich soils within boreal, cool temperate, and cool mesothermal climates. Common in meadow-like communities and coniferous forests on water-receiving and watercollecting sites. Usually associated with Athyrium filixfemina, Gymnocarpium dryopteris, Lonicera utahensis, Optopanax horridus, and Streptopus roseus. A nitrophytic species characteristic of Moder and Mull humus forms.
