Sanicula bipinnatifida

Sanicula bipinnatifida
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Asterids
Order:	Apiales
Family:	Apiaceae
Genus:	Sanicula
Species:	S. bipinnatifida
Binomial name
Sanicula bipinnatifida Douglas ex Hook.

Sanicula bipinnatifida is a species of flowering plant in the parsley family known by the common names purple sanicle, purple blacksnakeroot, and shoe buttons. It is native to the west coast of North America from British Columbia to Baja California, where it can be found in many types of habitat, including grassland, woodlands, and mountain slopes of serpentine soils. It is a perennial herb growing to a maximum height near 60 centimeters from a taproot. It is bright green to dark purple in color. The leaves are borne on long petioles, measuring up to 19 centimeters long with blades divided into several toothed lobes. The inflorescence is made up of one or more heads of bisexual and male-only flowers with tiny, curving, reddish, purple, or yellow petals. The prickly fruits are a few millimeters long.

Flower closeup, at Edgewood Preserve in San Mateo County, CA.

External links

• Media related to Sanicula bipinnatifida at Wikimedia Commons
• Calflora Database: Sanicula bipinnatifida (Purple sanicle, Snakeroot)
• Jepson Manual Treatment
• USDA Plants Profile
• Washington Burke Museum
• U.C. Photos gallery