Woodland perennials, with lobed leaves, often glossy. Flowers are small, but in tight umbels, yellow, to pink and white. They can be rather modest in the garden environment, but Hacquetia is now included within the genus, which is a super garden-worthy, early flowering perennial. Sanicula europaea is a woodland native across the UK.
With flowers in diminutive umbels produced in shady spots in early spring, bees (including queen bumblebees) visit for nectar and pollen.
See Hacquetia for further details.