Perideridia gairdneri

Squawroot

Umbel Side Close-Up

West Block, Cypress Hills
26-July-2006

Note the two bracts at the base of the umbel.  These bracts may or may not be present.

Note that the key to the genera in Budd's Flora requires:
bullet

leaves much divided, with leaflets or segments numerous; NOT [leaves simple or divided into few well developed leaflets]

This is not true.

Note that the key to the genera in Flora of Alberta requires:
bullet

leaves once pinnate; NOT [leaves 2 or more times pinnate or ternate]

In fact, the leaves of this species can be once or twice pinnate.

The rest of the answers to the key questions are listed below.

 
bullet

Perideridia: Answers to key questions in Budd's Flora and Flora of Alberta leading to this genus.
bullet

NOT [plants with a bluish tinge; flowers in dense globose heads; bracts spiny]

bullet

plants with stem leaves; NOT [plants scapose]

bullet

lower stem leaves alternate, stem leaves sometimes opposite in the inflorescence; NOT [lower stem leaves opposite]

bullet

foliage NOT spiny

bullet

lowest leaves (and the upper) compound; NOT [lowest leaves simple]

bullet

foliage NOT digitately compound

bullet

NOT [leave usually trifoliate, leaflets palmate, 10-30 cm wide]

bullet

leaves pinnate, trifoliate, or simple; NOT [leaves palmate with 5-7 large leaflets]

bullet

leaf segments few, usually 5, long and linear; NOT [leaf segments more than 5]

bullet

leaflets mostly 1–2 mm wide; NOT [leaflets more than 2 mm wide]

bullet

leaflets entire; NOT serrate

bullet

plants NOT with axillary bulblets largely replacing flowers

bullet

inflorescence NOT bluish

bullet

umbel compound; NOT simple

bullet

umbel many-flowered; NOT few-flowered

bullet

involucral bracts small; NOT large

bullet

involucral bracts slightly or not dissected; NOT [involucral bracts pinnately dissected]

bullet

fruit about 2 mm long; NOT [fruit generally more than 2 mm long]

bullet

fruit generally 3 times as long as broad or less; NOT [fruit several times longer than broad]

bullet

fruit oblong to elliptical; NOT [fruit linear to clavate]

bullet

fruit NOT with hooked spines

 
bullet

Umbelliferae: Answers to key questions in Budd's Flora leading to this family.
bullet

herbs; NOT [shrubs or trees]

bullet

plants terrestrial or semi-aquatic; NOT [plants aquatic, leaves submerged or floating]

bullet

plants NOT with colored milky juice

bullet

stems hollow

bullet

plants with more than one normal leaf

bullet

some or all leaves alternate; NOT [leaves opposite, whorled, or basal]

bullet

leaves without stipules, or having glands; NOT [leaves with stipules]

bullet

flowers in umbels

bullet

flowers with two floral rings, and with each petal distinct from the others

bullet

parts of flowers mostly in fives; NOT [parts of flowers in twos or fours]

bullet

calyx regular

bullet

stamens 10 or fewer; NOT [stamens usually more than 10]

bullet

styles 2; NOT 5

bullet

ovary inferior; NOT superior