Bulblet-bearing Water Hemlock Care

Bulblet Water Hemlock is a native, erect perennial, growing from 12 to 40 inches high on slender hollow stems with limited widely spaced branching. Stems are smooth and light green to slightly reddish.The leaves are alternate, widely spaced, 1 to 3 times pinnately divided into narrow leaflets with widely spaced ragged teeth. Lower leaves may be up to one foot long with long stalks and at least bi-pinnate while the upper leaves are much shorter, sometimes stalkless and usually simple-pinnate.The inflorescence is a compound umbel of many clusters on long stalks from the leaf axils. The umbel can have 8 to 10+ umbellets with up to 15 flowers each, with the whole compound umbel spanning about 2 to 4 inches across. The stalks of the umbellets are of unequal length giving the entire cluster a domed but uneven appearance. Beneath the umbel and each umbellet are several thin pointed bracts.