Rhizomatous; stems 3-10 dm, erect, simple or sparingly branched, sparsely villous below with hairs to 1 mm; lfls 2-5 cm wide, usually purplish at the margin; infl cymose, usually much surpassing the lvs; pedicels strigose or spreading-hairy or both; pet yellow, 12-18 mm; fr 8-10 mm, very minutely spreading-hairy or glabrous; seeds 2 mm. Usually in rich woods; Pa. to O. and s. Ill., s. to Ga. and Tenn. May, June. (Xanthoxalis g.)

Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.

©The New York Botanical Garden. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

From Flora of Indiana (1940) by Charles C. Deam

Infrequent in wooded ravines and rarely in abandoned fields.

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Indiana Coefficient of Conservatism: C = 8

Wetland Indicator Status: N/A

Diagnostic Traits: Stems erect from lignescent, stoloniform rhizomes without tubers; leaves trifoliate, the obcordate leaflets rounded distally and usually with narrow purple margins; flowers produced above the level of the leaves, yellow with weak red lines in the throat; petals 10-14 mm.