Aruncus dioicus (sylvester)
Goatsbeard

Family: Rosaceae (Rose family)

Photo taken at Mill Creek near Stevens Pass, partially shaded, moist forest

Flowers:

inflorescence in a panicle, 1 to 8 dm long; 5 sepals; petals 1 to 2 mm, white to pale yellow; staminate flower with 15 to 30 stamens, exerted; pistillate flower with 3 pistils and short styles

Fruit:

more or less cylindric follicle, 3 to 5 mm

Leaves:

mostly cauline, less than 60 cm, 2 to 3 pinnate; leaflets 3 to 5 cm, ovate, sharply serrate, more or less hairy

Plant:

1 to 2 meters tall; dioecious; rhizomatous

Habitat:

moist streambanks, forests

Distribution of species:

Alaska to California, and in Eurasia

Distribution of genus:

1 species: North America and Europe