Lomatium minus
Lomatium martindalei
Day Valley desert-parsley, John Day desert parsley, John Day Valley desert parsley
Cascade biscuit-root, Cascade desert-parsley, Coast Range lomatium, few-fruit lomatium, martindale's lomatium
arising at slightly different heights, not forming just 1 rosette, blue-green, glaucous, often 2–3-ternate-3-pinnately dissected;
petiole broadly sheathing basally to 1/2 length;
blade triangular to ovate, 5–12 × 2.7–10 cm, surfaces glabrous;
penultimate segments narrow, usually less than 2 mm wide, ultimate segments 1000–5000, linear, 1–5 × 0.5 mm, not overlapping, margins entire, apex acute, callus tips 0–0.2 mm, firm but not spinelike, terminal segment 1–5 mm;
cauline leaves 0–2, petioles sometimes sheathing more than 1/2 length.
arising at slightly different heights, not forming just 1 rosette, blue-green, 0–1-ternate-1–2-pinnate;
petiole sheathing basally to entire length, not shiny, glabrous;
blade broadly ovate to elliptic, (2–)3–15 × 1.5–7.1 cm, surfaces glabrous or scaberulous on margins and veins abaxially, outline of leaf blade tip usually obtuse to rounded;
penultimate segments broad, more than 2 mm wide; ultimate segments 32–300(–500), broadly triangular to ovate, greatly confluent, 0.8–3.2 × 0.6–2 mm, relatively wide, length/width ratio 1–3.5(–5), margins entire, apex usually obtuse or rounded, sometimes acute, callus tips 0–0.1 mm, firm but not spinelike, terminal segment 0.8–2.2 mm;
cauline leaves 0–4, if present, with more than 5 ultimate segments, similar to basal leaves.
absent or subterranean.
absent or subterranean.
1–6 per plant, usually 1 per stem, decumbent, spreading, or ascending, strongly inflated at maturity, 5–15(–24) cm, exceeding leaves, 2–8(–11) mm wide 1 cm below umbel, glabrous.
1–8 per plant, 1(–3) per stem, ascending to erect, not inflated, 2–20(–30) cm, exceeding leaves, 1–2 mm wide 1 cm below umbel, glabrous or sparsely scabrous on margins.
2.5–4.7 cm wide in flower, 3.6–8.6 cm wide in fruit, rays 6–16, spreading, 1–4(–6) cm in fruit, subequal to unequal, glabrous;
involucel bractlets several, distinct, linear-subulate, (3–)4–9(–15) mm, shorter or longer than flowers, margins very broadly scarious, not ciliate, entire, glabrous;
umbellets 8–15-flowered.
(0.6–)1.2–5 cm wide in flower, (1.8–)2.2–7 cm wide in fruit, rays 3–16(–27), spreading to ascending or suberect, 0.5–8 cm in fruit, subequal to unequal, usually glabrous;
involucel bractlets 0(–few), distinct, narrowly linear or very short and triangular, inconspicuous, 1–2.5 mm, shorter than pedicels, margins narrowly scarious, not ciliate, entire, glabrous.
petals purple to dark pink, glabrous;
anthers purple;
ovary and young fruit glabrous.
petals white, cream, or ochroleucous, or yellow, glabrous;
anthers white or yellow;
ovary and young fruit glabrous.
(5.5–)6.5–8(–9) mm, shorter than fruit.
2–10(–15) mm, shorter than fruit, spreading to erect when fruit is mature.
± dorsiventrally compressed, narrowly elliptic or oblong-oval, 8.8–16(–19.3) × (3–)4.7–7.8 mm, length/width ratio 1.9–3.3;
wings 0.9–2 mm wide, 25–50% of body width, ± same color as body;
abaxial ribs slightly raised;
apex obtuse;
oil ducts usually 1 in intervals, 3–4 on commissure, conspicuous.
dorsiventrally compressed, narrowly oblong to broadly elliptic or ± diamond-shaped, (6–)8–16 × 2.4–6.6 mm, length/width ratio 1.7–3.9;
wings 1.1–2.1 mm wide (35–)50–85% of body width, paler than body;
abaxial ribs raised and winglike but much narrower than lateral wings;
apex usually rounded or obtuse to truncate;
oil ducts 1(–2) in intervals, 2(–4) on commissure, conspicuous.
= 22.
Lomatium minus
Lomatium martindalei
Lomatium minus is strongly glaucous with purple or pink petals, narrow leaflets, and an inflated stem like that of L. columbianum. However, L. minus is a much smaller plant, and the peduncle is inflated unevenly. In mature fruits, the wings curve back, making each mericarp rounded in cross section like a bread roll. Lomatium minus is endemic to the Blue Mountains region of central Oregon, with an outlying population in northern Malheur County. It is sometimes confused with L. tuberosum, which has similar petal colors and leaflets but is endemic to central Washington. Lomatium minus is a culturally significant food plant to members of the Sahaptin Native nations (D. E. Moerman 1998).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Lomatium martindalei is common in and west of the Cascade Range, from southwestern British Columbia to Del Norte and Siskiyou counties, California. Plants vary in leaflet shape, petal color, and fruit width and therefore shape. The narrowest-leaved forms are confused with L. hallii and the widest with L. howellii, although they lack the spinelike leaflet tips of the latter species.
Three varieties are often recognized in L. martindalei, although the variation is more complex than that and a taxonomic oddity confuses things further. Two varieties with white to ochroleucous petals have been called var. martindalei and var. angustatum. In theory, var. martindalei has broader fruits, mostly 1.5–2 times as long as wide, and grows from California north to Mt. Hood, Oregon, and Skamania County, Washington. Variety angustatum has narrower fruits, mostly 2–3 times as long as wide, occurs in the Cascade Range from British Columbia south to Lane County, Oregon. Unfortunately, sheets of the same collection (Howell s.n., 1880, US) were used as the type collection for both names. These sheets may not represent a single population; Howell collected extensive series for sale. The third variety, var. flavum, has yellow petals and grows on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington. However, forms with yellow petals also occur on coastal bluffs elsewhere, as well as some subalpine sites in the Cascade Range. It is unclear if the populations outside the Olympic Peninsula should be considered var. flavum. More likely, they are occasional yellow forms of var. martindalei or var. angustatum. Certain leaflet variants have been said to be associated with particular petal colors or seed shapes, but this does not appear to be true. The described variation is real, but at this point, the three varieties do not represent consistently useful taxonomic units.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
- Local floras:
BC, 
CA, 
OR, 
WA - Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos,
Flora NW, 
PNW Herbaria, Turner Photog. 
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