Cicuta douglasii

Western water hemlock

Family: Apiaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Western water hemlock is a California native perennial found in the Klamath Ranges, northern Coast Ranges, Sierra Nevada, and Great Basin in wet places and aquatic habitats at elevations below 2,800 meters. Flowering from June to September, this plant produces small white flowers in compound umbels with 15 to 30 delicate rays. Growing 1.5 to 3 meters tall with erect, hollow stems, it develops a robust and branching structure. Its large leaves are intricately divided, with narrow to lance-shaped leaflets that range from 1 to 10 centimeters long and have finely toothed edges. The fruit is small, approximately 2 to 4 millimeters in diameter, with prominent ribs that distinguish this potentially toxic wetland species.

Habitat: Wet places, generally aquatic

Bloom period: Jun-Sep

Elevation: < 2800 m

Bioregions: KR, NCo, NCoRH, NCoRI, CaRH, s SNF, SNH, CCo, SCo, GB

California counties: Monterey, Shasta, Mono, San Joaquin, Nevada, Marin, Inyo, Modoc, El Dorado, Plumas, San Bernardino, Sonoma, Santa Cruz, Siskiyou, Kern, Tulare, Alpine, Solano, Lassen, Sierra, Humboldt, Butte, Colusa, Alameda, Madera, Lake, Tuolumne, Napa, Mariposa, Del Norte, San Luis Obispo, Trinity, Mendocino, Ventura, Santa Barbara, Placer, Calaveras, Riverside

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.