Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria

View additional distribution information on the Jepson eflora

Sanicula crassicaulis is a species of flowering plant in the parsley family known by the common names Pacific blacksnakeroot and Pacific sanicle. 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 mountain slopes, grassland, and woodlands. It is a perennial herb producing a thick stem up to 1. 2 meters tall from a taproot. The leaves have blades up to 12 centimeters long which are divided into a few deep lobes and edged with small teeth. The inflorescence is made up of one or more heads of bisexual and male-only flowers with tiny, curving, yellow petals. Each head has approximately five leaflike, lance-shaped bracts at its base. The rounded fruits are a few millimeters long, covered in curving prickles, and borne in small clusters.

Plant type

Perennial herb

Size

3 - 7 ft Tall

Calscape icon
Color

Yellow

Sun

Deep Shade, Partial Shade

Water

Low, Very Low

Sunset Zones

4, 5, 6*, 7, 14, 15, 16, 17*, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24

Site type

Open slopes, ravines

Plant communities

Chaparral, Foothill Woodland, Valley Grassland, Yellow Pine Forest

Caterpillars
Butterflies

Butterflies and moths supported

1 confirmed and 1 likely

Confirmed Likely

Agonopterix oregonensis

Epermenia californica