Flower:

Flowers are in flat clusters (umbels), in 3 to 5 groups (umbellets) of 4 to 7 flowers each, at the top of the plant and arising from the upper leaf axils. Individual flowers are about 1/8 inch (~3 mm) across, with 5 notched white petals, 5 white-tipped stamens, and 2 styles that are shorter than the petals. Occasionally, an umbellet will have some staminate (male) flowers, lacking the styles. At the base of each umbellet are 3 to 5 lance-linear, hairy bracts less than ¼ inch long, usually with 1 or 2 longer bracts at the base of the umbel.

Leaves and stem:

Leaves are basal and alternate, 2 or 3 times compound in groups of 3. Basal and lower stem leaves are long stalked, becoming shorter stalked as they ascend the stem. The terminal leaflet is largest, 1½ to 3 inches (4 to 8 cm) long and up to 2 inches wide, shallowly to deeply lobed with coarsely toothed edges, becoming smaller and less lobed as they ascend the stem.

Surfaces are hairy, especially along the veins on the underside; stalks are similarly hairy. Stems are single or few from the base, erect to ascending, branched or not, and variously covered in long, spreading hairs, more densely so in the upper plant.

Fruit:

Fruit is slender, ½ to 1 inch (12 to 25 mm) long, broadest near the tip, tapering at the base to a sharp point,  ribbed with appressed hairs along the ribs and around the tapering base. The remains of the short style persists at the tip. It matures to brownish black and splits into 2 seeds when ripe.

Notes:

Sweet Cicely is a common woodland species found across the state, and is one of 4 Osmorhiza species currently known to be in Minnesota. It most closely resembles the equally common Aniseroot (Osmorhiza longistylis), with which it may grow, and when flowers or fruits are not present the two can be hard to distinguish. Aniseroot stems are short-hairy to hairless and broken stems and leaves have a notably anise fragrance, where Sweet Cicely stems are long-hairy and is more foul-smelling or only weakly anise scented. Aniseroot flowers are also more numerous (up to 16) per umbelette, most umbellets with staminate flowers in the center, styles are longer than the petals, bracts at the base of umbellets are broader and typically longer, and leaves tend to be less divided than Sweet Cicely.

There are also 2 rare Osmorhiza species in Minnesota, both of which lack bracts at umbellet bases and are currently only found in Cook County.