Cursed crowfoot

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Cursed crowfoot

Cursed crowfoot

Cursed crowfoot

Cursed crowfoot leaf

Cursed crowfoot flower

Morphology

Stem

Erect, 1-several, stout, branched above, hollow, glabrous; up to 40 inches long when submerged.

Leaves

Alternate, mostly palmately 3-5-lobed, light-green, glabrous; basal and lower stem leaves with stalks 1 to 6 inches long, kidney-shaped, .4 to 2.8 inches long, 1.2 to 3.6 inches wide, deeply 3-parted; segments linear-oblong, again cleft or lobed; terminal segment more shallowly 3-lobed; lateral segments 2-3-lobed; lobes blunt to rounded or with teeth; upper leaves much smaller, short-stalked to sessile; palmately-divided; divisions oblong or linear, margins entire or few-toothed; uppermost bracts simple or divided into oblanceolate or linear segments.

Inflorescence

Solitary flowers, terminal or on ascending stalks in upper leaf axils.

Flower

Small; sepals 5, egg-shaped, about 1/10 inch long, spreading to bent back, yellowish-green, usually glabrous; petals 5, egg-shaped, 1/10 to 1/5 inch long, pale yellow, fading whitish; stamens 10-25.

Fruit

Achenes, numerous, together in short cylindrical head-like groups, 1/6 to 1/2 inch long, 1/7 to 1/4 inch thick; achene body tiny, flat, egg-shaped, glabrous.

Ecology

Habitat

Wet areas, margins of ponds, lakes or streams, marshes, ditches.

Distribution

Throughout Kansas.

Practical Information

Toxicity

Poisonous to livestock. The sap is reported to cause blistering when it comes in contact with skin.

Uses

Native Americans would rub the plant on their arrow points as a poison.

Additional Notes