Water avens (sometimes called Chocolate root) is a small perennial of wet meadows and bogs in the cooler climates or New England, the Upper Midwest and the higher mountains of the middle Appalachians. Preference is for full sun to part shade (afternoon shade in warmer regions) and moist to wet soil. Flowers are urn shaped and do not open fully and are brown-purple to purple-pink from May to August. There are European forms of this plant which are mostly what is available in the nursery trade. Zone 3-7. NJ ecotype.