Sanicula graveolens
Encyclopedia
Sanicula graveolens is a species of flowering plant in the parsley family
known by the common names northern sanicle and Sierra blacksnakeroot. It is native to western North America from British Columbia
to Montana
to California
, and southern South America, including southern Chile
. Its habitat includes mountain slopes, forests, and woodlands on serpentine soil
s. It is a perennial
herb
producing a slender, branching stem up to half a meter tall from a taproot
. The leaves are compound, the blades each divided into three deeply lobed, toothed leaflets. The herbage is green to purple-tinged to all purple in color. The inflorescence
is made up of one or more heads
of bisexual
and male-only
flowers with tiny, curving, yellow petals. Each head has an array of narrow, toothed bract
s at its base. The rounded fruits are a few millimeters long, covered in curving prickles, and borne in small clusters.
Apiaceae
The Apiaceae , commonly known as carrot or parsley family, is a group of mostly aromatic plants with hollow stems. The family is large, with more than 3,700 species spread across 434 genera, it is the sixteenth largest family of flowering plants...
known by the common names northern sanicle and Sierra blacksnakeroot. It is native to western North America from British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
to Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, and southern South America, including southern Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
. Its habitat includes mountain slopes, forests, and woodlands on serpentine soil
Serpentine soil
A serpentine soil is derived from ultramafic rocks, in particular serpentinite, a rock formed by the hydration and metamorphic transformation of ultramafic rock from the Earth's mantle....
s. It is a perennial
Perennial plant
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter lived annuals and biennials. The term is sometimes misused by commercial gardeners or horticulturalists to describe only herbaceous perennials...
herb
Herbaceous plant
A herbaceous plant is a plant that has leaves and stems that die down at the end of the growing season to the soil level. They have no persistent woody stem above ground...
producing a slender, branching stem up to half a meter tall from a taproot
Taproot
A taproot is an enlarged, somewhat straight to tapering plant root that grows vertically downward. It forms a center from which other roots sprout laterally.Plants with taproots are difficult to transplant...
. The leaves are compound, the blades each divided into three deeply lobed, toothed leaflets. The herbage is green to purple-tinged to all purple in color. The inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
is made up of one or more heads
Pseudanthium
A pseudanthium or flower head is a special type of inflorescence, in which several flowers are grouped together to form a flower-like structure. The real flowers are generally small and greatly reduced, but can sometimes be quite large...
of bisexual
Plant sexuality
Plant sexuality covers the wide variety of sexual reproduction systems found across the plant kingdom. This article describes morphological aspects of sexual reproduction of plants....
and male-only
Stamen
The stamen is the pollen producing reproductive organ of a flower...
flowers with tiny, curving, yellow petals. Each head has an array of narrow, toothed bract
Bract
In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis, or cone scale. Bracts are often different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of a different color, shape, or texture...
s at its base. The rounded fruits are a few millimeters long, covered in curving prickles, and borne in small clusters.