Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Campanulids: Apiales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Sanicula odorata
FAMILY
Apiaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
A sanicle with distinctly yellow flowers, as opposed to the white or greenish flowers of our other species. Pryer & Philippe (1989) describe in detail the necessary replacement of the name Sanicula gregaria by S. odorata. Learn more in Weakley's Flora.
Read more about Clustered Snakeroot at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
Sepals on mature fruit inconspicuous among the uppermost bristles. Petals yellowish green, much longer than calyx. Stamens long-exserted from calyx (filaments that have shed their anthers may be mistaken for styles due to their length; however, they are much thicker and lighter in color than the styles). Styles more than twice as long as calyx, conspicuously exserted and recurved. - These and other diagnostic characters are discussed and illustrated in Pryer & Philippe (1989).
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Sanicula odorata
FAMILY
Apiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Sanicula odorata
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Sanicula odorata
SYNONYMOUS WITH A synopsis of the genus Sanicula (Apiaceae) in eastern Canada (Pryer & Phillippe, 1989)
Sanicula odorata
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 140-03-001:
Sanicula gregaria FAMILY Apiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Sanicula gregaria
COMMON NAME:
Clustered Snakeroot, Clustered Sanicle, Yellow-flowered Snakeroot, Fragrant Snakeroot
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_sagr6_001_lvd
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USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide pnd_saod_001_lvd
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Susan Laurie-Bourque in Pryer & Phillippe (1989) slb_s_odorata_a
Polygamous umbellet with pedicellate mature fruits and staminate flowers, per A synopsis of the genus Sanicula (Apiaceae) in eastern Canada (Pryer & Phillippe, 1989).
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Susan Laurie-Bourque in Pryer & Phillippe (1989) slb_s_odorata_b
Staminate umbellet with staminate flowers attached to swollen, dome-shaped receptacle, per A synopsis of the genus Sanicula (Apiaceae) in eastern Canada (Pryer & Phillippe, 1989).
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Susan Laurie-Bourque in Pryer & Phillippe (1989) slb_s_odorata_c
Style conspicuously exserted and recurved and more than twice as long as sepals, per A synopsis of the genus Sanicula (Apiaceae) in eastern Canada (Pryer & Phillippe, 1989).
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JK Marlow jkm120421_195
April Hendersonvlle County NC
Holmes Educational Forest
Some umbellets contain perfect and staminate flowers, others only staminate, per Weakley's Flora (2012).
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JK Marlow jkm120424_500
April Pickens County SC
Jocassee Gorges
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JK Marlow jkm120424_563
April Pickens County SC
Jocassee Gorges
)
JK Marlow jkm150425_824
April Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Yellow petals (vs. white or greenish) separate it from other Sanicula, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
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JK Marlow jkm150425_830b
April Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
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JK Marlow jkm150425_830c
April Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
)
JK Marlow jkm150425_835
April Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
)
JK Marlow jkm120517_012
May Yancey County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
Lvs irregularly or doubly serrate. Basal & lower stem lvs usually w 5 segments, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
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JK Marlow jkm120517_017
May Yancey County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
JK Marlow jkm160503_132
May Haywood County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
Petals yellowish green, much longer than the calyx, per Weakley's Flora (2012).
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JK Marlow jkm170510_811
May Polk County NC
Pearson's Falls
Staminate pedicels 1.5-3mm long. Calyx lobes deltoid, apices not sharp, per A synopsis of the genus Sanicula (Apiaceae) in eastern Canada (Pryer & Phillippe, 1989).
COMPARE
fruit of Galium, Geum and Sanicula species
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JK Marlow jkm170510_815
May Polk County NC
Pearson's Falls
Fruits globose to obovoid, with short but distinct pedicels, per A synopsis of the genus Sanicula (Apiaceae) in eastern Canada (Pryer & Phillippe, 1989).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Sanicula odorata
FAMILY
Apiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Sanicula odorata
FAMILY
Apiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Sanicula odorata
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Sanicula odorata
SYNONYMOUS WITH
A synopsis of the genus Sanicula (Apiaceae) in eastern Canada (Pryer & Phillippe, 1989)
Sanicula odorata
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 140-03-001:
Sanicula gregaria
FAMILY
Apiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Sanicula gregaria
3293
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: Mesic to dry-mesic nutrient-rich forests, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common in Mountains & Piedmont, uncommon in Coastal Plain
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Palmately compound: 5 leaflets (usually)
Alternate & basal
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
Yellow
5-merous
Inferior ovary
Bisexual or staminate, usually in the same umbel
Umbellets dimorphic: some polygamous and some staminate only
FRUIT:
Summer
Schizocarp of two mericarps
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p426
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p259
- Wildflowers in the Field and Forest: Northeastern US (Clemants & Gracie, 2006) p176
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p037
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p113
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