Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria

View additional distribution information on the Jepson eflora

Osmorhiza brachypoda is a species of flowering plant in the carrot family known by the common name California sweetcicely. It is native to mountainous and wooded areas of California and Arizona, at elevations from 200-2,000 meters (660-6,560 ft). Habitats include chaparral and woodlands and coniferous forests. It is found in the Southern California Coast Ranges, Transverse Ranges, Peninsular Ranges, and the central and southern Sierra Nevada foothills. Osmorhiza brachypoda is a hairy, aromatic perennial herb growing 30-80 centimetres (12-31 in) tall. The green leaves have blades up to 20 centimeters long which are divided into toothed or lobed leaflets. The blade is borne on a long petiole. The inflorescence is a compound umbel of many tiny greenish yellow flowers at the tip of a stemlike peduncle. The narrow, elongated fruit is ribbed and bristly, measuring up to 2 centimeters long. EcologyThis is the only known host plant for the California endemic moth Greya suffusca.

Plant type

Perennial herb

Size

1 - 3 ft Tall

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Color

Yellow, Green

Plant communities

Foothill Woodland, Red Fir Forest, Southern Oak Woodland, Yellow Pine Forest

Caterpillars
Butterflies

Butterflies and moths supported

0 confirmed and 2 likely

Confirmed Likely

Agonopterix rosaciliella

Black Swallowtail

Papilio polyxenes