| Author | Michaux | |
| Distribution | Throughout the Mountains, and apparently not found into the Piedmont foothills.
This is a central and southern Appalachian endemic species, ranging from PA south to northern GA. | |
| Abundance | Fairly common to common in the higher elevations, less numerous down to mid-elevations. | |
| Habitat | This is a species of cool habitats in NC, often in partial sun. It grows in upland hardwood or mixed forests, spruce-fir forests, around grassy balds, along roadbanks and wooded margins, and at times in seepages and banks of small creeks. | |
| Phenology | Blooms in August and September, and fruits in September and October. | |
| Identification | This is a rather tall and robust herb, growing to 4-5 feet tall on average. It has scattered alternate leaves, each up to 6-8 inches long, usually once-pinnate, with each leaflet being heavily serrated on the margins, elliptical to lanceolate in shape, about 4-5 inches long and 1.5-2 inches wide, with acuminate tips. The large umbel topping the stem has 13-25 rays/umbellets, each with white flowers, and the full umbel has a spread of about 4 inches in a gently rounded dome shape. It is smaller in overall appearance than the very robust A. atropurpurea, which is of uncertain provenance in NC; that species grows to 5 feet tall or more and has 20-45 rays in the umbel. A. triquinata leaflets have a ciliate margin and no hyaline margin (thin, smooth, and colorless margin), whereas leaflets in A. atropurpurea do, so you may need a hand lens to check this character. Heracleum maximum is also very robust but its leaflets are maple-like, and it grows in damp or flat ground, whereas A. triquinata is an upland species. Most biologists should be quite familiar with this species, as long as they spend time in the higher elevations in summer and fall. | |
| Taxonomic Comments | None
| |
| Other Common Name(s) | Mountain Angelica, Appalachian Angelica | |
| State Rank | S4 | |
| Global Rank | G4 | |
| State Status | | |
| US Status | | |
| USACE-agcp | | |
| USACE-emp | | |
