Osha experts - Please help me identify which is Osha?

Hi, I live at 8000' in Colorado's western slope.  I know there is Osha around here.  We have tons of Yarrow which is easy to identify.  I believe we have poison hemlock which I want to identify.  I don't know if we have Queen's Anne Lace or wild carrot.

I've googled the difference between Poison Hemlock and Osha, but I sometimes get contradictory info.  I've read Poison Hemlock has purple splotches all the way up the stem, and I think I've read it also has opposite leaves (please correct me if wrong)?

Here are some pics I took on a walk this morning where I see two distinctly different plants that look the same.  One I think might be Osha, the other I don't know.  They each have different leave branching characteristics from the stem, but neither have purple splotches along the stem?  (I need to take a closer look at the one I can't identify.  For sure the one I think is Osha has no purple except at the very base.)

I included a picture where I thought the compound leaves appeared differently -- this was from one site where two plants appeared to have different leaves (the one on the right is more defined).  But I'm now realizing the one of the left may simply be a weaker plant, so perhaps the leaves on each plant would be more alike.

Here are the pics.

The pictures are out of focus

Poison Hemlock-

S. Marshall, your mention of Anne brought this to my attention.

The Dirt Doctor, Howard Garrett, says to look at the roots:

This plant is strongly dependent on mycorrhizal fungi, and attempts to cultivate osha outside of its habitat have not been successful.

Identification

Has the typical appearance of members of the carrot family (apiaceae), with parsley-like leaves and double umbels of white flowers. Bases of the leaves where they attach to the root crowns have a reddish tint which is unique, and the roots are fibrous, with a dark, chocolate-brown, wrinkled outer skin. When this skin is removed, the inner root tissue is fibrous and yellowish-white with a pleasant "spicy celery" fragrance that resembles lovage (Levisticum officinale).

Roots have a collar of dead leaf material surrounding the root crowns which is hairlike in appearance. They dry very quickly and are very astringent when fresh, and can cause blistering of the mouth and mucous membranes in humans if eaten fresh. Dried roots do not have the astringent effect. Roots of older plants are far stronger and more bitter than those of younger plants.

Plants form large clumps over time and can reach heights of 6 to 7 feet and produce circular colonies with dozens of root crowns growing from a central root mass. Best harvested in the afternoon as the plants are relished by bears that visit the plants during the morning.

https://www.dirtdoctor.com/garden/Osh-Root_vq14030.htm

I often find if I am on my phone and I shrink a blurry photo the focus looks better.  Unfortunately it still doesn't work well enough in this case.  There are some super deadly look alikes (hemlock fir one) so you want to be very sure of the id.  

If there's at hint at all of purple on the stem I'd be pulling it before it could go to seed.  I don't remember the other warning signs.  According to Wikipedia the hemlock won't smell like celery or lovage.  Hopefully someone with more foraging experience can chime in.  So far I haven't poisoned anyone human or animal with my wild parsley variety but I am not trained at all. Unfortunately if you find those plants might be hemlock, then you need to clean your hands ASAP!! Hemlock poison can be absorbed through your skin..

You'd think I was using a talk to text program with the number of almost right words in this post.

Osha has a spicy celery smell and Poison hemlock has a foul musty smell, and is usually taller.

Poison hemlock grows up to 8 feet tall and also the native water hemlock (toxic) grows up to 4 feet tall, where Osha maxes out at 3 feet.

Your best bet is don't try to consume this, the 2 plants are too similar. And like Casie said wear gloves and pull these before it seeds because its toxic to livestock also.

This plant is strongly dependent on mycorrhizal fungi, and attempts to cultivate osha outside of its habitat have not been successful.

The Cech family of herbalists who have a farm in Williams (southern Oregon, far from the Rockies) and sell through their Strictly Medicinals website have been growing osha and selling live plants and seed for decades.  Richo Cech has a chapter on growing osha in his book "Growing At-Risk Medicinal Herbs".

Osha from Strictly Medicinals

Growing At-Risk Medicinal Herbs by Richo Cech



I know that's not much help to the original poster, but for others who'd like to try their hand growing it - growing it is a great idea because it's an over-harvested herb in many areas. Also, you won't have to worry as much about mis-identification.

For wildcrafting herbs in the carrot family, it is of great advantage to be taught in person by someone you know. I used to harvest with friends who owned a medicinal herb company, and I learned how very dangerously similar poison hemlock can look to the wild angelica in Oregon, for example.  Osha does have a very different root. When you learn to ID plants from another person, in person, you can learn the many ID techniques - habitat, look, feel, smell, and also taste of tiny amounts, of the plant.  This is one of those families for which having all these ID points can be critical.

Apparently there are stands of established osha that grow to 6 ft so they don't max out at 3 ft, but even a taller species would be smaller for most of it's life

I would not discourage wearing gloves, but what I  said was wash your hands.  I know I would worry about odors on a glove interfering with clear scent identification and so would most likely be handling that part bare hand.

There is a great movie about poisonous lookalikes that everyone should see, called "Into the Wild"

It was also an international best seller non-fiction book written by  Jon Krakauer, quite often used for college curriculum.

I think with Osha, you DO need in person  teaching . The fragrance is distinctive, what ever else you learn, the scent is confirmation.

This may seem far fetched until you think about how distinctively scented other members of that botanical  family are:  parsley, celery, fennel, anise and dill

Good luck!

Exciting to know strictly medicinal sells osha plants!

I agree that for this, in person teaching is necessary. Due to some of the members being deadly poisonous, my rule for myself with all Apiaceae family plants is that I observe the same plants for a full year before I even think about harvesting or eating them. That way, I see them in all stages and can learn what is normal variation between plants vs. having the wrong identification. For me, it also helps me recognize the pattern of the plant and get to know them to the point it's easy to spot them, even from afar. I think it might help you get clarity in this instance too, because Poison Hemlock is a biennial, whereas from my understanding, Osha is a perennial. Of course, that means you'd need to watch for two years. I'd hesitate to crush any leaves to smell until I felt quite certain it wasn't hemlock. I could be misremembering, because I take that plant very seriously, but I seem to recall my herbalist mentor telling me that even crushing and smelling it could make you sick (thought not kill you).

Here's some excellent info for further identification help. Though again, I wouldn't consume that plant without consulting someone who really knows their stuff in person. I consider myself to be pretty good at plant identification, and I had an extremely difficult time distinguishing between photos of Poison Hemlock and Osha leaves.  
https://www.swcoloradowildflowers.com/ligusticumporteri.htm

If you do learn that it's Osha, I would still be cautious with the harvesting, since as it's been mentioned, it is an ecologically sensitive plant and often over harvested. Learning about the plant's life cycle from the book mentioned would be quite helpful for ensuring it stays abundant in your area.