Question: Good evening, I found what I'm pretty sure is a sweet-cicely in a wet area of woods in Lincoln, RI …
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Question
Good evening, I found what I'm pretty sure is a sweet-cicely in a wet area of woods in Lincoln, RI today. I surmise it must be bland sweet-cicely, because neither O. berteroi nor O. depauperata occur in RI, and O. longistylis is rare. Does this look like it's Osmorhiza claytonii to you? Thanks for your assessment!
Answer
Dear sldz22, good afternoon. In order to identify this plant, we need to measure the length of the styles at the apex of the fruits (i.e., they very thin, almost thread-like stalks that stand up off the body of the fruit). If those are 2 mm long or longer, they are Osmorhiza longistylis (shorter and they are O. claytonii). The bractlets are deciduous at this point, so they are not helpful in the identification. Let me know what you find out.
