Sanicula hoffmannii
Encyclopedia
Sanicula hoffmannii is an uncommon species of flowering plant in the parsley family
known by the common names Hoffmann's sanicle and Hoffmann's blacksnakeroot. It is endemic to California
, where it is known from the Channel Islands
and a few locations in the coastal mountain ranges of the mainland, including the Scotts Creek
watershed
in Santa Cruz County
. Its habitat includes coastal hillsides and mountain slopes, sometimes with serpentine soil
s. It is a perennial
herb
producing a thick stem up to 90 centimeters tall from a taproot
. The green or bluish leaves are compound, the blades each divided into about three lobed, toothed leaflets. The inflorescence
is made up of one or more heads of bisexual
and male-only
flowers with tiny, curving, yellow-green petals.
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 Hoffmann's sanicle and Hoffmann's blacksnakeroot. 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 the Channel Islands
Channel Islands of California
The Channel Islands of California are a chain of eight islands located in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Southern California along the Santa Barbara Channel in the United States of America...
and a few locations in the coastal mountain ranges of the mainland, including the Scotts Creek
Scotts Creek
Scotts Creek is a surfspot in Santa Cruz County, California. It is a few miles north of Davenport and a few miles south of Wadell Creek. On big north swells that occur during the winter, a large bowly right is enjoyed by many surfers. The spot has similarities to Swami's surfspot in San Diego...
watershed
Drainage basin
A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...
in Santa Cruz County
Santa Cruz County, California
Santa Cruz County is a county located on the Pacific coast of the U.S. state of California, on the California Central Coast. The county forms the northern coast of the Monterey Bay. . As of the 2010 U.S. Census, its population was 262,382. The county seat is Santa Cruz...
. Its habitat includes coastal hillsides and mountain slopes, sometimes with serpentine soil
Serpentine soil
A serpentine soil is derived from ultramafic rocks, in particular serpentinite, a rock formed by the hydration and metamorphic transformation of ultramafic rock from the Earth's mantle....
s. 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...
producing a thick stem up to 90 centimeters tall 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 or bluish leaves are compound, the blades each divided into about three lobed, toothed leaflets. 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 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-green petals.