''Sanicula canadensis'', the Canadian blacksnakeroot, is a

native plant In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often popularised as "with no human intervention") during history. The term is equi ...

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

and a member of

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Apiaceae Apiaceae () or Umbelliferae is a family of mostly aromatic flowering plants named after the type genus ''Apium,'' and commonly known as the celery, carrot, or parsley family, or simply as umbellifers. It is the 16th-largest family of flowering p ...

. It is biennial or perennial, and spreads primarily by seed. It grows from 1 to 4.5 feet tall, and is found in mesic deciduous woodlands. The whitish-green flowers with

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 Etymology The term ''sepalum'' ...

s longer than

petal Petals are modified leaves that form an inner whorl surrounding the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly coloured or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corol ...

s, appearing late spring or early summer and lasting for approximately three weeks, are green and bur-like. The bur-like fruit each split into 2 seeds. The species ranges throughout the eastern United States (excluding Maine), extending north into Quebec and Ontario, and west into Texas and Wyoming.

References

canadensis Flora of Eastern Canada Flora of the North-Central United States Flora of the Northeastern United States Flora of the Southeastern United States Flora of the Appalachian Mountains Flora of the Great Lakes region (North America) Flora of the Great Plains (North America) Flora of the United States Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Apiaceae-stub