Chinese Hemlock-parsley

Last year I found myself in a White Cedar swamp along Doon Creek in Kitchener, the site was somewhat hummocky with groundwater seepage areas, but with a closed canopy and patchy herbaceous layer.  Every once in a while areas of Sensitive Fern, Beggars Ticks, Purple-stemmed Aster, Wild Sarsparilla, Swamp Goldenrod and Fowl Manna Grass kept things interesting.  The photo below shows the habitat; typical organic cedar swamp (real fun to traipse through with all the deadfall!).

 I was delighted to look down at one of these patches and spot Apiacea foliage (the carrot/parsley family).  These leaves were a little more delicate looking than Spotted Water-hemlock (Cicuta maculata) but not quite as dainty as Bulb-bearing Water-hemlock (Cicuta bulbifera).  I had seen Chinese Hemlock-parsley (Conioselinum chinense) at a cedar swamp at rare Charitable Research Reserve (approximately 5km south of this spot) a few years prior and sure enough that's what we had here. 

The species is listed as S2 provincially (5-20 occurrences), so I was excited to take lots of pictures of the basal leaves at my feet.  Oldham & Brinker (2009) list county occurrences as Brant, Waterloo, Wellington, Haldimand, Huron, Lambton, historical record from Middlesex and all the way up in Cochrane District.  So it's pretty widespread.

 

A few more steps and a few more mature plants.

This was in July so I didn't manage to find any in bloom.  The photo below shows a plant maybe 75cm in height and soon-to-bloom.  Overall I think there were about 50-60 plants.