Lomatium minus
Lomatium pastorale
Day Valley desert-parsley, John Day desert parsley, John Day Valley desert parsley
Umatilla biscuitroot
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, green, ternate-(1–)2-pinnate;
petiole sheathing basally to entire length;
blade equilaterally triangular to rhombic, 5.6–15 × 4.5–17.9 cm, surfaces glabrous; ultimate segments (5–)15–80, ascending to spreading in life, oblong, linear, narrowly elliptic, 1–60 × 0.8–6(–9.7) mm, relatively narrow, lateral leaf segments often narrowed to base forming petiolule or ultimate segments crowded, confluent at base with adjacent lobe, petiolule absent, margins entire, apex acute, callus tips 0–0.1 mm, terminal segment 22–37 mm;
cauline leaves 0.
absent or subterranean.
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.
1–10(–19) per plant, 1–2+ per stem, usually strongly decumbent, becoming ascending to erect distally with age, often purplish when mature, not inflated, 2–20(–33) cm, greatly exceeding leaves, 1.5–3.3 mm wide 1 cm below umbel, glabrous or with minute and blunt papillae.
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.
1.1–5 cm wide in flower, 1.5–13.3 cm wide in fruit, rays 3–22, usually spreading less than 180 degrees, 1–10.5 cm in fruit, unequal, glabrous;
involucel bractlets (0 or)4–8(–12), present on most umbellets, distinct, linear or lanceolate, 1.5–5 mm, subequal to flowers, margins sometimes narrowly scarious, not ciliate, entire, sometimes slightly lobed at base, glabrous.
petals purple to dark pink, glabrous;
anthers purple;
ovary and young fruit glabrous.
petals bright yellow to rarely cream with clear to greenish midvein, glabrous;
anthers bright to creamy yellow;
ovary and young fruit glabrous.
(5.5–)6.5–8(–9) mm, shorter than fruit.
0.5–3.5(–5.4) mm, subequal to fruit.
± 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 elliptic, rarely oblong, 5–11.5 × 2.2–3.8 mm, length/width ratio (2.3–)2.5–3(–3.6), crowded or not;
wings 0.3–0.5(–0.6) mm wide, 10–36% of body width, paler than body;
abaxial ribs not raised;
apex acute to obtuse;
oil ducts 3(–5) in intervals, 1(–3) on commissure, 1 in each wing, obscure.
Lomatium minus
Lomatium pastorale
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 pastorale is usually yellow-petaled, and its stems are usually decumbent. It is known only from Umatilla and Union counties, where it can be abundant in heavily disturbed sites, such as quarries and areas that were severely overgrazed a century ago, but it is also found at lower density in other open sites that lack well-developed soils. The roots penetrate into cracked basalt bedrock. This species is similar to the L. triternatum complex but glabrous or nearly so. Lomatium leptocarpum differs in its upright peduncles and rays, narrower and nearly sessile fruit, and its nearly radial involucel. See discussion under the very similar 93. L. tarantuloides of Grant and Baker counties, Oregon.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
OR
Flora NW
PNW Herbaria
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
