Sphenosciadium facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Sphenosciadium |
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| Sphenosciadium capitellatum | |
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| (unranked): | |
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Sphenosciadium
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| Species: |
S. capitellatum
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| Binomial name | |
| Sphenosciadium capitellatum A.Gray
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Sphenosciadium capitellatum is a special kind of flowering plant. It is the only species in its group, called a monotypic genus. This plant is part of the carrot family. People know it by several fun names. These include woollyhead parsnip and ranger's buttons. Other names are button parsley and swamp white heads.
Where Ranger's Buttons Grow
This plant is native to western North America. You can find it in places like Idaho and Nevada. It also grows in Oregon and California. Its range extends south into Baja California.
Ranger's buttons like wet places. They often grow near creeks. You can also spot them in moist meadows.
These plants look a bit like other large plants. They are similar to Sierra angelica. They also resemble cow parsnip. However, each plant has different leaves. Their flowers also look very distinct. Ranger's buttons have tight, ball-shaped flower clusters. The other plants have more open flower shapes.
What Ranger's Buttons Look Like
Ranger's buttons are strong perennial herbs. This means they live for many years. They grow from a thick, tuber-like root. Their stems grow straight up. These stems often reach over 3 feet (1 meter) tall. Some can even grow to almost 4 feet (1.2 meters).
The stems and leaves are usually green. Sometimes they can look almost white. They feel smooth near the bottom. But they have rough hairs near the flowers. The leaves are divided into many parts. These parts have smaller leaflets. The leaflets themselves can be very detailed. They often split into tiny segments.
The plant's flowers grow in a special cluster. This cluster is called an inflorescence. It looks like a whitish, branched umbel. An umbel is like an umbrella shape. Each branch can be up to 4 inches (10 centimeters) long. The flowers are in nearly round, head-like clusters. These are called terminal umbellets. They hold many tiny white flowers. Some flowers might have a purple tint. When fully bloomed, their stamens stick out. This makes the flower clusters look very fuzzy. You can see this fuzzy look in the main image at the top right.
