General: Perennial with slender, short rhizomes; stems erect or ascending, glandular-hairy, 15-60 cm tall.
Leaves: Main leaves basal, with long stalks and 3 leaflets that are irregularly lobed and coarsely toothed, sparsely hairy; stem leaves (1 to few) reduced in size and with shorter stalks.
Flowers: Tiny, delicate, white, at the end of short wire-like stalks; several to many in elongated clusters.
Fruits: Few-seeded capsules borne horizontally, open by splitting between the small upper valve and the larger lower valve to form structures that resemble sugar scoops; seeds smooth, black, shining.
Ecology: Moist, shady coniferous forests, seepage areas, stream-banks, also in clearings; widespread at low to middle and sometimes subalpine elevations.