Sanicula marilandica
Encyclopedia
Maryland black snakeroot (Sanicula marilandica) is a flowering plant
widespread in North America but rare along the Pacific coast of the continent and Texas. Sanicula marilandica is listed as Sensitive in Washington state.
Leaves
with deeply incised lobes radiating out from the same point. Every leaf has no set number of leaflet
s, but commonly will have 5–7. The plant is not tall but the fruiting stalk will rise up to 2 feet, bearing green diminutive flower
s in spring. In fall the fruiting stalk carries dehiscent
fruit
that splits, bearing small spines.
Flowering plant
The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...
widespread in North America but rare along the Pacific coast of the continent and Texas. Sanicula marilandica is listed as Sensitive in Washington state.
Leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
with deeply incised lobes radiating out from the same point. Every leaf has no set number of leaflet
Leaflet
A leaflet in botany is a part of a compound leaf. A leaflet may resemble an entire leaf, but it is not borne on a stem as a leaf is, but rather on a vein of the whole leaf. Compound leaves are common in many plant families...
s, but commonly will have 5–7. The plant is not tall but the fruiting stalk will rise up to 2 feet, bearing green diminutive flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s in spring. In fall the fruiting stalk carries dehiscent
Dehiscence (botany)
Dehiscence is the opening, at maturity, in a pre-defined way, of a plant structure, such as a fruit, anther, or sporangium, to release its contents. Sometimes this involves the complete detachment of a part. Structures that open in this way are said to be dehiscent...
fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
that splits, bearing small spines.