Bractlets of the epicalyx 3 or none; each cal- segment with 3 strong nerves; stamen-column often bearing anthers along the sides as well as at the top; pet broadly truncate; carpels 10-20, rounded or short-beaked at the tip, one seeded, sometimes eventually dehiscent at the tip; styles slender, elongate, stigmatic along the inner side; perennial herbs from a thick (often turnip-like) or fusiform root (our spp.), or annual from a slender taproot; lvs triangular to rotund in outline, crenate to deeply divided; fls large, purple, red-purple, or occasionally pink or white. 9, N. Amer.
Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.
