Stems erect, pubescent or glabrous, 8 to 15 inches high from a deep, perennial, tubercled, jointed rootstock, the joints easily separable. Leaves all petioled, 2 to 5 inches broad, those on the stem usually three and forming a whorl, rarely distant, three-parted nearly to the base, the divisions lanceolate, linear or oblong, the lateral ones often deeply cleft, all deeply toothed or lobed; basal leaves similar, usually developing later than the flowering stems. Flowers numerous in a stout, broad raceme, two-thirds to three-fourths of an inch broad, pink or white. The four petals longer than the sepals. Stamens six. Fruiting pod linear, ascending, 1 to 1 ½ inches long.

In moist or rich woods, Quebec to Florida, west to Minnesota, Kansas and Louisiana. Flowering in April and May.

Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum

Plate 81

A. Cut-Leaved Toothwort Or Pepperroot - Dentaria laciniata