Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria

View additional distribution information on the Jepson eflora

Sanicula tuberosa is a species of flowering plant in the parsley family known by the common name turkey pea. It is native to western North America from Oregon through California to Baja California, where it can be found in many types of habitat, including chaparral, forests, and woodlands. It is variable in appearance. In general, it is a perennial herb producing a slender stem up to 80 centimeters long from a small, spherical tuber no more than 2 centimeters wide. The leaves are compound, divided into usually three leaflets which are smooth or deeply cut into lobes. The herbage is green to purple in color. The inflorescence is made up of one or more heads of bisexual and male-only flowers with tiny, curving, yellow petals. The fruits are 1 or 2 millimeters long and covered in bumpy tubercles.

Plant type

Perennial herb

Size

3 ft Tall

Calscape icon
Color

Yellow

Sun

Full Sun, Partial Shade

Soil drainage

Fast

Site type

Open gravelly meadows,

Plant communities

Chaparral, Foothill Woodland, Red Fir Forest, Yellow Pine Forest

Caterpillars
Butterflies

Butterflies and moths supported

1 confirmed and 1 likely

Confirmed Likely

Agonopterix oregonensis

Epermenia californica