American wild carrot
Apiaceae
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Species Information
General:
Slender annual herb from a slender taproot; stems single, 50-70 (90) cm tall, stiff-hairy throughout.
Leaves:
Basal and stem leaves pinnately dissected with small narrow ultimate segments, leaf blades 3-10 cm long.
Flowers:
Inflorescence of numerous, compound umbels with compact heads; flowers white, small; involucral bracts pinnatifid into linear segments without paper-like margins.
Fruits:
Oblong, 3-5 mm long, 2 mm wide, usually broadest below the middle, ribbed and armed with barbed prickles along alternate ribs.
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) |
216 | 122 | 285 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
33 | 1 | 60 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
182 | 60 | 360 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
1 | 0 | 2 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
|||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
32 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
CDF | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
CDF(4) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Dry rock outcrops and grassy sites in the lowland zone; locally common on SE Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands and adjacent mainland; S to MO, SC, FL and MX.Status Information
Taxonomic Keys
1. Involucral bracts with paper-like edges below; leaf segments threadlike to awl-shaped; plants introduced, coarse biennials..................... D. carota
1. Involucral bracts without paper-like edges below; leaf segments linear or lanceolate, scarcely elongate; plants native, slender annuals..................... D. pusillus Source: Illustrated Flora of British Columbia |