Flora of North America species comparison

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Cymopterus terebinthinus
Cymopterus terebinthinus

aromatic spring parsley, northern Indian parsnip, turpentine cymopterus, turpentine spring parsley, turpentine wavewing
Habit Herbs mildly aromatic with turpentinelike odor, caulescent to short-caulescent, sometimes acaulous, 15–60 cm; crown subterranean; caudex branched, clothed with persistent leaf and peduncle bases.
Leaves

mostly basal, often a few cauline, ternate-2–3-pinnate or 2–3-pinnate;

petiole 2–16 cm;

blade broadly ovate, 2–18 × 2–23 cm, surfaces gray-green to bright green;

not glaucous, glabrous;

primary leaflets 3 or (9 or)11 or 13, proximal ones 20–115 × 10–40 mm; ultimate segments linear, ovate, or elliptic, 1–4(–7) × 0.1–1.2 mm, margins entire, apex acute, mucronate, callus tip 0–0.2(–0.3) mm.
Pseudoscapes

absent.
Peduncles

ascending, (7–)15–35(–41) cm, glabrous.
Umbels

open, convex, 1–7 cm wide in flower, to 9.5 cm in fruit;

involucral bracts absent;

rays visible, rarely hidden in umbel in flower or fruit, 5–80 mm in fruit;

involucel bractlets distinct, occasionally connate basally, linear to ovate, 1–6 × 0.2–1.2 mm, ± equaling flowers.
Pedicels

1–8 mm in fruit.
Flowers

sepals triangular or rounded, 0.5–1.5 mm;

petals yellow or greenish yellow;

anthers yellow.
Schizocarps

broadly ovate to broadly elliptic or orbiculate, dorsiventrally compressed;

mericarps 2.2–11 × 1.5–10 mm, surfaces glabrous;

lateral wings thin, 0.4–2.8 mm high, corrugated or planar, abaxial wings thin, 0.4–2.8 mm high, corrugated or planar;

oil ducts 3–12 in intervals, 4–20 on commissure;

carpophore present.

Cymopterus terebinthinus
Distribution
from USDA
w United States
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Varieties 4 (4 in the flora).

Cymopterus terebinthinus, particularly var. terebinthinus and var. foeniculaceus, have often been confused with Lomatium papilioniferum, but these two species are easily distinguished even in the absence of fruits. Lomatium papilioniferum smells similar to peaches, whereas Cymopterus terebinthinus smells similar to turpentine. Lomatium papilioniferum has very numerous filiform ultimate leaf segments that are disposed in many planes, and the sepals are scarcely developed. Cymopterus terebinthinus has flat ultimate leaf segments, disposed more nearly in a single plane. The presence of abaxial as well as lateral wings on the fruit of C. terebinthinus will separate it immediately from L. grayi, which has only lateral wings. Cymopterus terebinthinus is a culturally significant medicine plant to Indigenous Peoples of the Pacific Northwest, including but not limited to the Sahaptan-speaking people of the Columbia Plateau and the Okanagan (N. J. Turner et al. 1980; E. S. Hunn and J. Selam 1990).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Key
1. Leaf blade ultimate leaf segment callus tips (0–)0.05–0.2(–0.3) mm, at least some more than 0.05 mm; umbels 2–7 cm wide in flower; mericarps 5–11 × 5–10 mm, wings 1.2–2.8 mm high; California, nw Nevada, Oregon, Washington.
→ 2
2. Petals greenish yellow; mericarp wings twice corrugated, sometimes once corrugated, 1.2–2 mm high; Oregon, Washington.
var. terebinthinus
2. Petals yellow; mericarp wings once corrugated or planar, 1.2–2.8 mm high; California, Nevada.
var. californicus
1. Leaf blade ultimate leaf segment callus tips 0–0.05 mm; umbels usually 1–3(–4) cm wide in flower; mericarps 2.2–7(–7.5) × 1.5–6 mm, wings 0.4–1.5 mm high; California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming.
→ 3
3. Leaf blade ultimate segments narrowly to broadly elliptic, rarely linear, 0.3–1.2 mm wide, at least some more than 0.5 mm wide; Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming.
C. terebinthinus
0. albiflorus.
→ 3
3. Leaf blade ultimate segments linear or narrowly elliptic, 0.1–0.5 mm wide; Idaho Oregon, Washington.
var. foeniculaceus
Source FNA vol. 13.
Parent taxa Apiaceae > Cymopterus
Sibling taxa
C. aboriginum, C. alpinus, C. basalticus, C. cinerarius, C. corrugatus, C. coulteri, C. crawfordensis, C. davisii, C. deserticola, C. douglassii, C. duchesnensis, C. evertii, C. gilmanii, C. glaucus, C. globosus, C. glomeratus, C. goodrichii, C. hendersonii, C. ibapensis, C. jonesii, C. lapidosus, C. longilobus, C. longipes, C. megacephalus, C. minimus, C. newberryi, C. nivalis, C. panamintensis, C. petraeus, C. purpureus, C. ripleyi, C. rosei, C. sessiliflorus, C. spellenbergii, C. trotteri, C. williamsii
Subordinate taxa
C. terebinthinus, C. terebinthinus var. californicus, C. terebinthinus var. foeniculaceus, C. terebinthinus var. terebinthinus
Synonyms Selinum terebinthinum, Pteryxia terebinthina
Name authority (Hooker) Torrey & A. Gray: Fl. N. Amer. 1: 624. (1840)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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