large-fruited black snakeroot

not listed

N4 - Apparently Secure

S3 - Vulnerable

Special Concern

Basal and lower stem leaves are palmately divided into 3 leaflets. The lateral leaflets are sometimes deeply cut making the leaf appear to have 5 leaflets — “3 looks like 3 (or 5)”.

The flowers are white. There are 4 to 11 flowers, usually 7 or fewer, in each flower cluster. All umbellets include both male flowers and usually 3 perfect flowers. Perfect flowers are stalkless. Male flowers are on long stalks, rising above the perfect flowers. The sepals are longer than the petals. There are 1 to 8 stamens. They do not protrude beyond the calyx lobes. The styles are inconspicuous, shorter than the calyx.

The seed capsules are ¼″ to 5 ⁄16″ long. The sepals in fruit converge, forming a beak as long or longer than the bristles. The styles in fruit are inconspicuous, shorter than the bristles.

Up to 40″

White

The number of leaflets on the basal and lower stem leaves of black snakeroots (Sanicula spp.) is an important identifying feature. However, the lateral leaflets are often deeply lobed, often to the base, appearing to be two separate leaflets.

Moderately moist. Deciduous forests. Full shade. North-facing slopes.

Mid-May to July

Sources

2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 28, 29, 30.

Native

Rare

Subfamily
NCBI, the APG IV system, and iNaturalist place the genus Sanicula in the subfamily Saniculoideae. GRIN places it in the subfamily Apioideae. At least two recent molecular DNA studies of the subfamily Saniculeae maintain the placement of Sanicula within the subfamily Saniculoideae. No discussion of moving the genera could be found. ITIS, GBIF, USDA Plants, World Flora Online, and Plants of the World Online do not recognize a subfamily. If the placement in the subfamily Apioideae is an error, that error is repeated on Wikipedia.