General:
Annual herb from a taproot; stems ascending to erect, solitary, simple to branched, sparsely bristly-hairy, 10-40 cm tall.

Leaves:
Basal leaves few, spoon-shaped, soon deciduous; stem leaves opposite, lowermost widely lanceolate with stalks, others stalkless and more oblong, entire or somewhat irregularly toothed on uppermost leaves, 1-7 cm long, 3-18 mm wide, coarsely fringed and short-hairy.

Flowers:
Inflorescence of several terminal flowers; corollas white, 1.5-2 mm long, lobed, the lobes bluish, about equal to the tube; calyces usually lacking; stamens 3.

Fruits:
Achenes, 2-4 mm long, 3-chambered, 2 chambers sterile, the fertile chamber bearing a thick, corky mass on the back.

Source:  The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

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.

Illustration Source:  The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Valerianella olitoria (L.) Pollich