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

Sium suave Walter
hemlock water-parsnip (hemlock waterparsnip)
Apiaceae

Introduction to Vascular Plants

© Allan Carson  Email the photographer   (Photo ID #68952)

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Distribution of Sium suave
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Species Information

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General:
Terrestrial to semi-aquatic perennial herb from a very short, erect stem-base (not chambered) with fibrous roots that sometimes are tuberous-thickened; stems solitary, 0.5-1.2 m tall, stout, hollow, strongly ridged, generally branched above.
Leaves:
Stem leaves pinnately compound; leaf stalks with sheathing bases, blades 2-9 cm long, 1.5-10 (20) mm wide, divided into 7-15 leaflets that are lance-shaped to linear and toothed; submerged leaves much more finely divided; primary lateral veins of the leaflets not directed towards the base of the teeth.
Flowers:
Inflorescence of compound umbels; flowers white, small; calyx teeth minute or obsolete; involucel bractlets 6-10, narrow, reflexed.
Fruits:
Oval to elliptic, 2-3 mm long, prominently ribbed.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Habitat / Range

Wet streamsides, swamps, marshes, lake and pond shores in the lowland and montane zones; common throughout BC except Queen Charlotte Islands and adjacent coast; N to AK, YT and NT, E to NF and S to FL, VA, KS and CA.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Sium suave

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

Minimum

Average

Maximum
Elevation (metres) 0 753 1310
Slope Gradient (%) 0 0 18
Aspect (degrees)
[0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W] 		58 226 290
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR)
[0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic;
8 - hydric] 		5 7 8
Modal Nutrient Regime
Class		 D
Number of field plots
 species was recorded in:		 139
Modal BEC Zone Class
 IDF
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in: BG(7), BWBS(7), CWH(9), ICH(15), IDF(59), MS(1), PP(1), SBPS(9), SBS(29)

Climate

The climate type for this species, as reported in the: "British Columbia plant species codes and selected attributes. Version 6 Database" (Meidinger et al. 2008), is not evaluated, unknown or variable.

Synonyms and Alternate Names

Sium cicutifolium Schrank
Sium floridanum Small
Sium suave var. floridanum (Small) C.F. Reed

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links


Genetic information (NCBI Taxonomy Database)
 International Plant Names Index
 Taxonomic Information from the World Flora Online
 Integrated Taxonomic Information System

Additional Photo Sources

Images From CalPhoto
UT Austin's Native Plant Database
 Google Image Search
 Flickr Image Search

General References

Google Scholar Search
Family References
 General Botanical References for BC
Recommended citation: Author, Date. Page title. In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Editor) 2020. E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia [eflora.bc.ca]. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. [Accessed: 2024-05-16 8:22:27 PM ]
Disclaimer: The information contained in the E-Flora atlas pages is derived from expert sources as cited in each section. This information is scientifically based. E-Flora also acts as a portal to other sites via deep links. As always, users should refer to the original sources for complete information. E-Flora BC is not responsible for the accuracy or completeness of the original information.
© E-Flora BC: An initiative of the Spatial Data Lab, Department of Geography UBC, and the UBC Herbarium.