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Cryptotaenia canadensis - (image 1 of 5)

Taxonomy

Family: Apiaceae

Habitat

Upland woods, floodplain forest, often increasing with disturbance.

Associates

Acer saccharum, Claytonia virginica, Crataegus mollis, Galium aparine, Geranium maculatum, Geum canadense, Hydrophyllum virginianum, Ribes missouriense, Sanicula gregaria, Smilacina racemosa, Smilax lasioneura, Tilia americana, Viola sororia, Vitis riparia.

Distribution

Quebec and New Brunswick west to Manitoba, south to GA, AL, and TX. Also occurs in Japan.

Morphology

Fibrous-rooted perennial to 1 m; stem single. Leaves to 15 cm long, palmately divided into 3 leaflets; leaflets toothed, often lobed. Flowers tiny, white, in uneven clusters, born on stalks of variable length. Fruits dark, oblong, ribbed.       

Notes

Flowers late May to mid September

Wetland indicator: Facultative

Also called Wild Chervil. The leaves can be used like parsley or boiled and eaten as greens. The roots can be prepared like parsnips. 

References

Gleason, Henry A. and A. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada. Second Ed.
The New York Botanical Garden. Bronx, NY

Niering, W. A. 1979. The Audubon society field guide to North American wildflowers: eastern region.
Knopf/Random House, New York.

Peterson, L. A. 1977. A Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants: Eastern and central North America

Houghton Mifflin Company. New York, NY

Swink, F. and G. Wilhelm. 1994. Plants of the Chicago Region.
Indiana Academy of Science. The Morton Arboretum. Lisle, Illinois.

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