Bulblet-bearing Water Hemlock (Cicuta bulbifera): white Minnesota wildflowers

Bulblet-bearing Water Hemlock

Plant Info
Also known as:
Scientific name:	Cicuta bulbifera
Family:	Carrot (Apiaceae)
Life cycle:	perennial
Origin:	native
Habitat:	sun; swamps, along shores
Bloom season:	summer
Plant height:	1 to 4 feet
USDA PLANTS database:	Minnesota county distribution map
Spotted in Ramsey County at:	Rice Creek Trail Corridor Vadnais/Snail Lake Regional Park

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Flower:: Flowers are in a flat-topped cluster about 2 inches across; each cluster has about 15 groups of 1/8 inch flowers. Individual flowers have 5 notched white petals, a greenish center, and 5 stamen. One plant has multiple clusters.
Leaves and stem:: Leaves are compound with 3 or more very narrow blade-like leaflets. Leaflets are up to 3 inches long and have widely spaced teeth, but may be toothless. Attachment is alternate; leaflet attachment is opposite.
Tiny bulblets form in the leaf joints in the upper part of the plant, and is where the plant gets its name.
Notes:: This plant is poisonous. The flower cluster is typical of members in the Carrot family, but the feathery leaves and spindly look of this plant distinguish it from others Carrots, such as Water Hemlock. The bulbs growing in the leaf axils are another distinguishing feature.