Sanicula crassicaulis

Sanicula crassicaulis is a species of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae known by the common names Pacific black-snakeroot^[1] and Pacific sanicle.

Sanicula crassicaulis
Sanicula crassicaulis var. tripartita
Conservation status
Secure  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Apiales
Family:	Apiaceae
Genus:	Sanicula
Species:	S. crassicaulis
Binomial name
Sanicula crassicaulis Poepp. ex DC.

Description

It is a perennial herb producing a thick stem up to 1.2 meters tall from a taproot. The leaves have blades up to 13 centimeters long which are divided into a few deep lobes and edged with small teeth. The inflorescence is made up of one or more heads of bisexual and male-only flowers with tiny, curving, yellow petals (var. tripartita flowers may range from yellow, brown, or purple). Each head has approximately five leaflike, lance-shaped bracts at its base. The rounded fruits are a few millimeters long, covered in curving prickles, and borne in small clusters.^[2]

Distribution and habitat

Sanicula crassicaulis has an amphitropical distribution and is native to the west coast of North America and southern South America.^[3]

In North America, it ranges from British Columbia to Baja California, where it can be found in many types of habitat, including mountain slopes, grassland, and woodlands.^[4][5] In South America, it ranges from Coquimbo Region to Los Lagos Region in Chile, and Chubut Province, Neuquén Province, and Mendoza Province in Argentina.^[6] It is also introduced to the Juan Fernández Islands, where it is invasive.^[7]

S. crassicaulis var. tripartita leaf closeup, at Washington Park in Anacortes, WA

Taxonomy

There are two varieties:^[8][9]

• Sanicula crassicaulis var. crassicaulis (Poepp. ex. DC.) – Pacific sanicle – British Columbia to California; west of the Cascades and east in the Columbia River Gorge in Washington.^[9]
• Sanicula crassicaulis var. tripartita (Suksdorf) H. Wolff – Three-parted Pacific sanicle – southwestern British Columbia to Klickitat County in Washington; west of the Cascades and east in the Columbia River Gorge in Washington.^[9]