Sanicula tuberosa
Encyclopedia
Sanicula tuberosa is a species of flowering plant in the parsley family
known by the common name turkey pea. It is native to western North America from Oregon
through California
to Baja California
, where it can be found in many types of habitat, including chaparral
, forests, and woodlands. It is variable in appearance. In general, it is a perennial
herb
producing a slender stem up to 80 centimeters long from a small, spherical tuber
no more than 2 centimeters wide. The leaves are compound, divided into usually three leaflets which are smooth or deeply cut into lobes. The herbage is green to purple in color. The inflorescence
is made up of one or more heads
of bisexual
and male-only
flowers with tiny, curving, yellow petals. The fruits are 1 or 2 millimeters long and covered in bumpy tubercles.
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 name turkey pea. It is native to western North America from Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
through 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...
to Baja California
Baja California
Baja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...
, where it can be found in many types of habitat, including chaparral
Chaparral
Chaparral is a shrubland or heathland plant community found primarily in the U.S. state of California and in the northern portion of the Baja California peninsula, Mexico...
, forests, and woodlands. It is variable in appearance. In general, 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 stem up to 80 centimeters long from a small, spherical tuber
Tuber
Tubers are various types of modified plant structures that are enlarged to store nutrients. They are used by plants to survive the winter or dry months and provide energy and nutrients for regrowth during the next growing season and they are a means of asexual reproduction...
no more than 2 centimeters wide. The leaves are compound, divided into usually three leaflets which are smooth or deeply cut into lobes. The herbage is green to 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. The fruits are 1 or 2 millimeters long and covered in bumpy tubercles.