General: Perennial herb from a rhizome, with stolons, plants 5-20 cm tall; stems lacking.
Leaves: Basal leaves round to heart- or kidney-shaped, the blades 2-7 cm long, 2.5-3.5 cm wide, round-toothed, smooth, the stalks up to 15 cm long; stem leaves lacking; stipules lanceolate, entire.
Flowers: Inflorescence of single, axillary flowers; petals 5, white to lavender, the lower petal 10-13 mm long including the 2-to 4-mm long pouched spur, the lower 3 purple-pencilled and more or less tinged with lilac, the lateral pair sparsely or not bearded; sepals 5, lanceolate, with earlike lobes at the base; style heads smooth.
Fruits: Capsules, smooth, 6-7 mm long; dark brown.
Moist to wet streambanks, meadows, swamps, fens and woodlands from the lowland to subalpine zones; common throughout BC except the extreme NE; N to NT, E to NF and S to ME, NY, SD, WY, UT, NV 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, circumpolar forb (transcontinental in North America). Occurs on wet to very wet soils within boreal, wet temperate, and cool mesothermal climates. Scattered in non-forested, semi-terrestrial communities and open-canopy forests on water-collecting sites (organic soils). Characteristic of wetlands.
