Do these two stems REALLY belong to the same species (Oenanthe sarmentosa)? I know there is some color variationbut these look like completely different plants to me! NOTE: The flowers belong to the plant with the dark RED stem.
I forgot to mention that the red-stemmed plants were on relatively dry land while the green-stemmed plant was growing right out of the water.
I've checked a few references and all make mention of Oenanthe sarmentosa being glabrous. It seems the second entity, while having lookalike leaves, is a different species. As to what it is -- how "wild" of an area is this? Need to know whether to include potential garden escapees on the list of possibilities or not.
thanks for the reply Daniel, Here are a few more photos of the 2nd plant. I took a sample of this into the Native Plant Society workshop last month and the instructor told me it was O. sarmentosa. It's hard for me to believe that these are both the same species... not only are the stems different colors but one has hairs all over the stems and the other does not. I am at a loss. I look forward to your response!
P.S. The 2nd plant was photographed in a state managed Natural Resource Conservation Area on a forested tributary to the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River. Everything I've found there so far is native. The first plant (the one with the red stem) was found in a more developed area with a mix of natives and exotics.
Just to clarify -- the green-stemmed species is Oenanthe sarmentosa. It's the red-stemmed one I'm not certain about and wanted to know the location of -- and that's the one in the mix of native and exotic species, yes?
Sorry, missed that last bit. Ok, for the red-stemmed one, how likely is it that it is something that might have escaped from a garden? I did a quick runthrough of the images for the Apiaceae on the Burke Museum site and nothing jumped out at me, so I wondered if it might be a localized escapee.
Here is chervil for comparison. Leaves still look a bit different to me, though it does mention chervil often has purple stems and that the leaves have short, stiff hairs.
I've got it: Chaerophyllum temulum (Rough Chervil). Species is distiguished by green stems with purple spots and purple stems with band of green just below the leaf node. (See http://crdp.ac-besancon.fr/flore/Apiaceae/especes/chaerophyllum_temulum.htm.) Currently known in Washington from King County area according to Burke Museum online herbarium; distributed in scattered localities in northeastern North America.
If you have the time or inclination, I recommend finding a way to upload your photos to the WTU Herbarium site, as they include details not available in the current set of images.
