General: Perennial herb from a scaly, fleshy rhizome, without stolons; ascending to erect, smooth, 5-30 cm tall.
Leaves: Basal leaves heart-shaped to kidney-shaped, toothed, smooth, the blades 5-9 cm long, 4-8 cm wide, the stalks 2.5-25 cm long, smooth; stem leaves similar, the stalks from shorter than to slightly longer than the blades; stipules egg-shaped, 0.5-1 cm long, entire.
Flowers: Inflorescence of single, axillary flowers; petals 5, deep yellow, the lower petal 8-14 mm long including the 1- to 2-mm long spur, the lower 3 purplish-pencilled within, the lateral pair bearded; sepals 5, lanceolate; style heads densely bearded.
Fruits: Capsules, smooth, 7-17 mm long; seeds brown to black.
Notes: Hybridizes with V. biflora ssp. carlottae on the Queen Charlotte Islands.
Mesic to moist streambanks, woodlands and forests in the lowland to alpine zones; frequent in BC south of 56degreeN; N to S AK, 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)
A shade-tolerant to very shade-intolerant, submontane to subalpine, Western North American herb distributed equally in the Pacific and Cordilleran regions. Occurs on very moist to wet, nitrogen-rich soils (Moder and Mull humus forms) within boreal, temperate, and cool mesothermal climates; its occurrence increases with increasing latitude and precipitation. Common in non-forested communities and open-canopy forests on water-receiving (flood-plains and stream-edge) sites. Usually associated with Athyrium filix-femina, Cornus sericea, Lysichitum americanum, Rubus spectabilis, and Tiarella trifoliata. A nitrophytic species characteristic of flooded sites.
