E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of BC

Cicuta maculata L.
spotted cowbane (spotted water hemlock)
Apiaceae

Introduction to Vascular Plants

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General:
Stout perennial herb from a taproot or cluster of tuberous roots; stems solitary or few together from a tuberous-thickened chambered base, glabrous, 0.5-2 m tall.

Leaves:
Stem leaves compound, divided 1-3 times without bulbils in axils; leaflets more than 5 times as long as broad, linear to narrowly lanceolate; midvein on upper leaflet surface glabrous.

Flowers:
Inflorescence of several to many small compact clusters aggregated in several compound umbels; flowers white to greenish, small, numerous; involucral bracts mostly lacking.

Fruits:
Egg-shaped to orbicular, 2-4 mm long, longer than wide, without raised border on edge of the dark interval.

Notes:
A single collection of var. maculata is known from SW BC (Mulligan 1980). It is distinguished from var. angustifolia by its longer styles, elongate fruit and broader stem leaflets.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Ecological Framework for Cicuta maculata

The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)

Site Information	Value / Class
Site Information	Avg	Min	Max
Elevation (metres)	1037	650	1740
Slope Gradient (%)	0	0	2
Aspect (degrees) [0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W]	138	135	142
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric]	5	5	7
Modal Nutrient Regime Class	D
# of field plots species was recorded in:	6
Modal BEC Zone Class	ICH
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in	ICH(4), SBS(2)
Source: Klinkenberg 2013

Origin Status	Provincial Status	BC List (Red Blue List)	COSEWIC
Native	SU	Unknown	Not Listed

BC Ministry of Environment: BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer.

KEY TO CICUTA

1. Axils of leaves with bulblets; leaflets with narrowly linear segments C. bulbifera

1. Axils of leaves without bulblets; leaflets lanceolate.

2. Fruits slightly broader than long; midvein on upper leaflet surface scabrous C. virosa

2. Fruits from as broad as long to longer than broad; midvein on upper leaflet surface glabrous.

3. Leaflets 3-4 times as long as broad, lanceolate to narrowly oblong or elliptic; fruit with a narrow raised border along edge of dark interval C. douglasii

Leaflets more than 5 times as long as broad, linear to narrowly lanceolate; fruit without a raised border along edge of dark interval C. maculata

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