spotted cowbane (spotted water hemlock)
Apiaceae
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Photograph
Map
Distribution of Cicuta maculata var. angustifolia
Click here to view the full interactive map and legend
Species Information
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.
Illustration
If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.
Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
Ecology
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 |
||
|
Avg |
Min |
Max |
|
| Elevation
(metres) |
|||
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
2 | 2 | 2 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
194 | 194 | 194 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
7 | 7 | 7 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
C | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
1 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
ESSF | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
ESSF(1) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Wet streamsides, ditches and marshes in the steppe and montane zones; common in BC E of the Coast-Cascade Mountains; N to AK, YT and NT, E to ON and S to TX and MX.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Cicuta occidentalis Greene
Taxonomic Keys
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 |