
Gambleweed, Pacific Snakeroot
Sanicula crassicaulis
NATIVE
Description (Jepson, PlantID.net)
- Eudicotyledon
- Eudicots are a major lineage of flowering plants; see family for general characteristics
- Carrot Family (Apiaceae)
- Herbaceous biennial (dies after flowering in second year)
- Grows from a taproot
- Leaves
- Palmately lobed (lobes radiating from a single point) with toothed margins
- Surface coarse-textured
- Sheath at base of petiole (leaf stalk)
- Flowers
- Inflorescence (flower arrangement) is a dense umbel (a spoke-like flower cluster with stalks radiating from a single point)
- Large, leafy, green bracts (modified leaf) at base
- Individual minute yellow flowers with curled petals
- Both bisexual and male-only flowers
- Ovary inferior (below the attachment of other flower parts)
- Inflorescence (flower arrangement) is a dense umbel (a spoke-like flower cluster with stalks radiating from a single point)
- Fruit is a schizocarp (a dry fruit that splits into 2 one-seeded segments), with curving prickles (extensions of the epidermis) and borne in small clusters
- Height to 39 in.
- Some plants grow quite tall and open; others stay more compact
Distribution
- Native to California
- Grows in chaparral and on wooded slopes and canyons in oak, redwood, and mixed evergreen forests
- See Calflora for statewide observations of this plant
- Outside California, grows from British Columbia to Baja California, Mexico, and southern South America
- Grows at elevations to 4,900 ft.

© KKorbholz (L,M) and SBernhard (R)
Uses (San Mateo County Parks prohibits removal of any natural material)
- Native people
- Made a poultice of the leaves for rattlesnake bites and other wounds
- Alternative common name snakeroot probably refers to this use
- Made a poultice of the leaves for rattlesnake bites and other wounds
Name Derivation
- Sanicula (san-IK-yoo-la) – the diminutive of the Latin sanare, “to heal”
- crassicaulis (kras-i-KAW-lis) – from the Latin crassus, “thick,” and caulis, “stem”; thus “thick-stemmed”
Notes
- Prickles on the fruit enable seeds to be dispersed by attaching to animal fur or you!

© SBernhard
ID Tips
- Edgewood has 5 native sanicles (Sanicula species)
- Pacific sanicle grows the tallest, is distinct in form, and is the only Edgewood sanicle that is common along woodland trails
- When plant is not in flower, leaves may be confused with California larkspur leaves (Delphinium hesperium ssp. hesperium)
- Pacific sanicle leaves are dark green and have a rough surface, with a complex, reticulate (netted) pattern of veins, giving them a cobbled look
- California larkspur leaves are light green and have a smooth surface, with a simple branching pattern of veins that lacks prominent reticulation
At Edgewood
- Found in all plant communities, but especially common in woodlands
- See iNaturalist for observations of this plant
- Flowers March – May
Specific References
Wilson, B. 2012. Sanicula crassicaulis, Snakeroot. Las Pilitas Native Plant Nursery.