Stems erect or nearly erect, never rooting at nodes. Flowers: sepals spreading or reflexed from base. Achene margin 0.1-0.2 mm broad. 2 n = 32.

Flowering late winter-fall (Mar-Oct). Dry woods, grasslands, roadbanks; 0-1200 m; Ont.; Ala., Ark., Conn., Del., D.C., Ga., Ill., Ind., Kans., Ky., Md., Mass., Mich., Miss., Mo., N.J., N.Y., N.C., Ohio, Okla., Pa., S.C., Tenn., Vt., Va., W.Va.

This species, as I am treating it, seems to me to be a complex but I am not able to divide it. It has been reported from seven counties. I have 67 sheets from Indiana and these come from all parts of the state and from many habitats - from bogs to the crests of our highest and driest hills, and from the shade in woods to the brilliant sun of roadsides and prairies. The foliage varies so widely that no classification can be made on this character. The fruit, however, is rather constant. The petals vary from 3.5-7 mm in width and from 6-12 mm in length.