Skip to main content

Long-style sweet-cicely

Osmorhiza longistylis (Torr.) DC.

Images

Click on image to view full size

Long-style sweet-cicely fruit
Long-style sweet-cicely
Long-style sweet-cicely
Long-style sweet-cicely
Long-style sweet-cicely leaf
Long-style sweet-cicely flowers
Long-style sweet-cicely
Long-style sweet-cicely leaflets
Long-style sweet-cicely inflorescence
Long-style sweet-cicely inflorescence
Long-style sweet-cicely leaves
Long-style sweet-cicely leaf
Long-style sweet-cicely habit
Long-style sweet-cicely leaflets

Morphology

Stem
Erect or ascending, branched, sparsely to densely villous, sometimes glabrous.
Leaves
Basal and cauline. Basal leaves petiolate; petiole 2 to 6.4 inches, glabrate to densely pubescent; blade 2-3-ternately compound, triangular or ovate in outline, 1.6 to 10 inches; leaflets ovate to oblong-ovate, 1.2 to 4 inches long, .4 to 2 inches wide; margins serrate or doubly serrate, often pinnately lobed or incised toward base. Cauline leaves gradually reduced above; petiole present or absent; blade mostly ternate.
Inflorescence
Compound umbels, terminal and axillary; peduncles 2 to 6 inches; involucral bracts .2 to .6 inch; rays 3-6(-8), unequal, .6 to 2 inches; involucel bractlets 4-7, lanceolate to linear, .2 to .4 inch.
Flower
Pedicels 1/12 to 1/5 inch; calyx lobes absent; petals 5, white or greenish white, broadly elliptic to obovate; stamens 5; styles 2, longer than petals.
Fruit
Schizocarps splitting, elongate-ellipsoid or clavate, .4 to .8 inch, flattened at right angle to commissure, antrorsely hispid, persistent styles 1/12 to 1/6 inch; mericarps dark brown or black, ribs not corky, not winged, oil tubes obscure.

Ecology

Habitat
Mesic to dry oak-hickory forests, wooded stream banks
Distribution
East 1/3 of Kansas

Practical Information

Uses
The roots have been used as the source of an aromatic oil similar to that of anise (Pimpinella anisum).

Additional Notes

Comments

Plants usually strongly anise-scented. Osmorhiza, scent and root, and longistylis, long and column, alluding to the styles.

Quick Facts
Plant Type
Wildflower
Family
Apiaceae - Parsley Family
Life Span
Perennial
Height
12-40 inches
Origin
Native
Last Updated
2021-05-23
Color Groups
White, Green & Greenish White Wildflowers
Flowering Period
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Blooms: April, May, June, July