Cutleaf Water Parsnip

Notes:

Stolon-forming perennial herb found occasionally along or in creek beds or at waterfalls. In vegetative condition. Berula erecta has distinctive, ascending, pinnately compound leaves that smell like carrot (Daucus), and cannot be confused with anything else in range. The ability to identify basal leaves is valuable because in some years only vegetative materials may appear, so that the plant resembles a biennial, although it normally perennates via stolons while also starting new plants from mericarps. Its small white flowers are unremarkable. Because this plant grows around water, it is not uncommon for the fruits to be covered with fungus mycelium.