Oenanthe sarmentosa

Pacific oenanthe

Family: Apiaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Pacific oenanthe is a California native perennial found in coastal and northern California bioregions, including the North Coast, Central Coast, San Francisco Bay Area, and southern California desert regions in streams, marshes, and ponds at elevations below 1,800 meters. Flowering from June to October, this plant produces small white flowers in umbrella-like clusters with 10 to 20 delicate rays. Growing 50 to 150 centimeters tall with branching stems emerging from wet ground, it develops complex two-pinnate leaves with serrated, ovate leaflets. Its leaves are distinctive, with basal leaves having long stalks and an oblong-lanceolate shape, while upper stem leaves become shorter and more triangular-ovate. The plant produces small oblong fruits approximately 3 millimeters long with distinctive wide ribs.

Habitat: Streams, marshes, ponds, generally aquatic

Bloom period: Jun-Oct

Elevation: < 1800 m

Bioregions: NCo, NCoRI, CaRF, SNF (uncommon), CCo, SnFrB, SCo, SnBr, PR, DMoj

California counties: Humboldt, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, San Mateo, Fresno, Orange, Los Angeles, Del Norte, San Diego, Kern, Mendocino, Santa Cruz, San Bernardino, Riverside, Marin, Alameda, San Francisco, Sonoma, Lake, Solano, Amador, Tulare, Santa Barbara, Madera, Contra Costa, Sacramento, Shasta, Tehama, Santa Clara, Napa, Calaveras, Tuolumne

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