Purple Sanicle

Shoe Buttons, Snakeroot, Satellite Plant
Sanicula bipinnatifida
NATIVE

Description (Jepson, PlantID.net)

• Eudicotyledon
  • Eudicots are a major lineage of flowering plants; see family for general characteristics
• Carrot Family (Apiaceae)
• Perennial herb
  • Grows from a taproot
• Leaves
  • Basal and alternate (1 leaf at each junction with stem)
  • Deeply divided into several roughly-toothed lobes
  • Long, thick leaf stalks (petioles)
  • Purple-tinged
• Flowers
  • Inflorescence (flower arrangement) is a densely-packed, reddish-purple ball of flowers
  • Each flowerhead has around 20 bisexual and male-only flowers
  • Stamens (male flower parts) extend beyond the 5 tiny, curling petals
  • Ovary inferior (below the attachment of other flower parts)
• Fruit is a schizocarp (a dry fruit that splits into 2 single-seeded segments)
• Height to 2 ft.

Distribution

• Native to California
  • Grows in woodlands and grasslands, and areas with serpentine soils
  • 55-64% of the plants occur on ultramafic soils, e.g. serpentine; see ultramafic affinity rankings (Calflora per Safford and Miller 2020)
  • See Serpentine Grassland for more about Edgewood’s serpentine soil and the unique communities it supports
  • See Calflora for statewide observations of this plant
• Outside California, grows on the west coast of North America from British Columbia to Baja California, Mexico
• Grows at elevations between 65 and 6,070 ft.

Uses (San Mateo County Parks prohibits removal of any natural material)

• Native people used a decoction of the root as a cure-all and applied an infusion of leaves to snakebites

Name Derivation

• Sanicula (san-IK-yoo-la) – from the diminutive of the Latin sanare, meaning “to heal”
• bipinnatifida (bye-pin-a-TIF-i-da)- from the Latin for “twice pinnately cut,” referring to the leaf

Notes

• Pollinated by insects
• Seeds have curved prickles, which can attach to fur or clothing, enabling dispersal

ID Tips

• Edgewood has 5 native sanicles (Sanicula species)
  • Purple sanicle is the only one with reddish-purple, ball-shaped flowers

At Edgewood

• Found in serpentine and non-serpentine grasslands
  • See iNaturalist for observations of this plant
• Flowers February – May

Specific References

Alexander, E.B. 2010, Oct. & 2011, Jan. Serpentine soils and why they limit plant survival and growth. Fremontia 38/39: 28-31.

Safford, H.D. 2010, Oct. & 2011, Jan. Serpentine endemism of the California flora. Fremontia 38/39: 32-39.

Safford, H.D., and J.E.D. Miller. 2020. An updated database of serpentine endemism in the California flora. Madroño 67(2): 85-104. BioOne Complete. PDF hosted by San Diego State University, San Diego, California.

General References

Calflora Database. 2014. Berkeley, California.

Calscape. 2018. California Native Plant Society.

Charters, M.L. 2015. California Plant Names: Latin and Greek Meanings and Derivations.

Charters, M.L. 2017. Southern California Wildflowers: Guide to the Pronunciation of Specific, Generic and Family Names.

Corelli, T. 2004. Flowering Plants of Edgewood Natural Preserve (2nd. ed.). Monocot Press, Half Moon Bay, California.

Dave’s Garden.

Elpel, T.J. 2013. Botany in a Day: The Patterns Method of Plant Identification. HOPS Press, Pony, Montana.

Flora of North America. efloras.org.

Harris, J.G., and M.W. Harris. 2013. Plant Identification Terminology: An Illustrated Glossary. Spring Lake Publishing, Spring Lake, Utah.

Keator, G. 2009. California Plant Families. University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, California.

Native American Ethnobotany DB.

Regents of the University of California. Jepson eFlora. Jepson Herbarium. University of California, Berkeley.