SWEET CICELY IS BLOOMING

SWEET CICELY AND LUPINES ALONG HWY. 13...

SWEET CICELY FLOWERS...

...SQUARE STEMS AND OPPOSITE, FEATHER COMPOUND LEAVES

Wednesday, 8:00 AM,  60 degrees F. Wind NE, calm with occasional light to moderate gusts.  The sky is clear, the humidity 84%.  The barometer is more-or-less steady, at 30.05".  We may get some rain this evening, but it is a nice morning.
   Sweet Cicely, Osmorhiza chilensis,  in the Parsley (Umbelliferae) Family, started to bloom a few days ago and now is prominent along roadsides near the lake, often in conjunction with lupines, which are beginning to decline.  Sweet Cicely is one of my favorite wildflowers, and  according to Fasset's Spring Flora of Wisconsin, this species (chilensis)  is found in Wisconsin only in Bayfield County, near Lake Superior, although there are related species elsewhere in the state and region.
  The small white flowers, which grow in umbells, are very lightly suffused with pink, and are  sweetly, lightly anise scented.  The genus name in Greek means scented root, and the species name refers to it also occurring in South America (it also is found in the western mountains of the US and in California).

   Native Americans used a decoction of the roots as a physic, also for colds and related complaints, much as one might use mint.  A note of caution: never ingest anything in the Parsley Family without being precisely sure of its identification and edibility, as some of the plants in the genus are extremely poisonous.

   I always pick a few sweet Cicely for the vase, and they fill the room with their sweet aroma.