Sanicula maritima
Encyclopedia
Sanicula maritima is a rare species of flowering plant in the parsley family
known by the common names adobe sanicle and adobe snakeroot. It is endemic to California
, where it is known from just a few occurrences on the Central Coast
. Its habitat includes moist coastal meadows and canyons. It is a perennial
herb
growing to a maximum height near 40 centimeters from a taproot
. The green to yellowish leaves are simple or divided into a number of lobes, smooth-edged or toothed. The inflorescence
is made up of one or more heads
of bisexual
and male-only
flowers with tiny, curving, yellow petals. The prickly fruits are about half a centimeter long each.
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 names adobe sanicle and adobe snakeroot. It is endemic to 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...
, where it is known from just a few occurrences on the Central Coast
Central Coast of California
The Central Coast is an area of California, United States, roughly spanning the area between the Monterey Bay and Point Conception. It extends through Santa Cruz County, San Benito County, Monterey County, San Luis Obispo County, and Santa Barbara County...
. Its habitat includes moist coastal meadows and canyons. 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...
growing to a maximum height near 40 centimeters from a taproot
Taproot
A taproot is an enlarged, somewhat straight to tapering plant root that grows vertically downward. It forms a center from which other roots sprout laterally.Plants with taproots are difficult to transplant...
. The green to yellowish leaves are simple or divided into a number of lobes, smooth-edged or toothed. 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 prickly fruits are about half a centimeter long each.