Perennials; hirsute throughout or glabrous proximally. Rhizomes (tuberous at stem base), subglobose, (lobed or not), (3-)4-10 mm diam., (fleshy). Stems erect, unbranched, (0.7-)1-2.5(-3) dm, sparsely to densely hirsute, or glabrous basally, (trichomes (0.2-)0.3-0.6(-0.8) mm). Rhizomal leaves simple, (3-)5-15(-18) cm; petiole (2-)4-12(-16) cm; blade often orbicular to cordate, sometimes reniform or ovate, (1-)2-6 cm × (7-)17-50 mm, base obtuse to cordate, margins repand or entire. Cauline leaves 3-6(-8), simple, petiolate or sessile; (middle) shortly petiolate or (distal) sessile, base not auriculate; blade oblong to ovate or lanceolate, 2-5 cm × 5-25 mm, margins entire, repand, or coarsely dentate. Racemes ebracteate. Fruiting pedicels ascending to divaricate, (10-)15-35(-50) mm, sparsely pubescent or glabrous. Flowers: sepals oblong, 2.5-4(-6) × 1.5-2.5 mm, lateral pair not saccate basally, (surfaces often hirsute); petals usually rose-purple to pink, rarely white, obovate, (7-) 8-13(-15) × 3-5 mm, (short-clawed, apex rounded); filaments: median pairs 4-7 mm, lateral pair 2-4 mm; anthers oblong, 1.3-1.7 mm. Fruits linear, (1.5-)2-4 cm × 1.5-2 mm; ovules 10-16 per ovary; style 2-5 mm. Seeds brown, oblong to ovoid, 1.7-2.5 × 1-5 mm. 2n = 56, 64, 96, 112, 144. Flowering Mar-May. Rich woods, bluffs, mesic bottomland forests, rocky hillsides, floodplains, seepage of bogs, springy areas; 50-400 m; Ont.; Ala., Conn., D.C., Ill., Ind., Iowa, Ky., Md., Mass., Mich., Minn., Mo., N.J., N.Y., N.C., Ohio, Pa., S.C., Tenn., Va., W.Va., Wis.