Sanicula hoffmannii

Hoffmann's sanicle, Hoffmann's Sanicle

Family: Apiaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 4.3

Hoffmann's sanicle is a California native perennial found in the central coastal regions, including Santa Cruz County, southern coastal California, and northern Channel Islands in shrubby coastal hills and pine woodland at elevations below 500 meters. Flowering from March to May, this plant produces green-yellow flowers in small clustered heads with 4 to 10 bisexual and 3 to 5 staminate flowers. Growing 30 to 90 centimeters tall with a stout taprooted structure, it develops robust stems that support its distinctive foliage. Its leaves are compound and palmate, typically blue-green with triangular blades 4.5 to 13.5 centimeters long, featuring three obovate leaflets with irregularly serrate margins and a central leaflet 4 to 7 centimeters long. The fruit develops as a small 3 to 5 millimeter ovate structure with curved, somewhat poorly developed prickles.

Habitat: shrubby coastal hills, pine woodland

Bloom period: Mar-May

Elevation: < 500 m

Bioregions: CCo (Santa Cruz Co.), SCo, n ChI.

California counties: San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, San Mateo, Santa Cruz, Monterey, Santa Clara

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