''Oxypolis occidentalis'' is a species of flowering plant in the carrot family known by the common name western cowbane. It is native to sections of western North America, where it grows in forests and other habitat. It is a perennial herb growing from

tuber Tubers are a type of enlarged structure used as storage organs for nutrients in some plants. They are used for the plant's perennation (survival of the winter or dry months), to provide energy and nutrients for regrowth during the next growing ...

s and producing erect, branching stems up to 1.5 meters tall. The leaf has a blade up to 30 centimeters long which is divided into many toothed, lobed, or deeply cut leaflets. The blade is borne on a long petiole, with upper leaves having larger petioles than basal. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

is a dense compound

umbel In botany, an umbel is an inflorescence that consists of a number of short flower stalks (called pedicels) that spread from a common point, somewhat like umbrella ribs. The word was coined in botanical usage in the 1590s, from Latin ''umbella'' "p ...

of many small white flowers.

References

Jepson Manual TreatmentUSDA Plants ProfilePhoto gallery
Apioideae Plants described in 1900 {{Apiaceae-stub