Osmorhiza berteroi (Western Sweet Cicely) - photos and description
Fruit narrows at apex
Fruit narrows at apex.
Fruit narrows at apex.
Basal leaf in above photo.
General: Woodland perennial with stems erect, branching towards the top. Stems pubescent at bottom, sparingly hairy at top.
Flowers: Flowers greenish-white in compound umbels, flowers measured to 3 mm diameter. There are no involucral bracts.
Fruit: Fruit linear, narrows at the apex. We measured a fruit at 10 mm long by 1 mm wide.
Leaves: Basal leaves if present are long-stemmed, stem leaves are alternate. Leaflets serrate with a small spine at the end of the tooth. We measured an end leaflet at 30 mm long by 22 mm wide. Petioles pubescent.
Height: Height is listed in Flora of Alberta to 100 cm, we measured plants to 64 cm tall.
Habitat: Forest in the Cypress Hills.
Abundance: This plant is extremely rare, ranked as an S1 (as of 2021) by the Saskatchewan Conservation Data Centre. We have found it several times in the Cypress Hills.
Origin: Native.
Synonym: Listed in some of the field guides we use as Osmorhiza chilensis.
Similar species: There are three Osmorhiza
species
native to Saskatchewan. To identify them examine the
fruit.
- Osmorhiza longistylis
has fruit with long styles. Also, has bracts subtending the flower
umbels. This species is common.
- Osmorhiza depauperata
has fruit which are spatulate, widest at the apex. This species is
uncommon.
- Osmorhiza berteroi has fruit which are linear and narrow at
the apex. This species is extremely rare.
When and where photographed: The above photos were taken June 22nd, rich mixed woods, Cypress Hills, about 400 km south west of our home in Regina, SK.