Lomatium minus
Lomatium serpentinum
Day Valley desert-parsley, John Day desert parsley, John Day Valley desert parsley
Snake Canyon biscuit-root, Snake Canyon desert-parsley, sweetscented 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-pinnatifid, shiny, basal leaves with petiole sheathing basally to entire length;
blade triangular or rhombic, 6.5–15(–20) × (2.7–)4–7 cm, surfaces glabrous or obscurely papillate-scaberulous;
penultimate segments narrow, usually less than 2 mm wide, ultimate segments 300–1000, elliptic to oblanceolate, (0.5–)1–6 × 1–2(–2.5) mm, length/width ratio 1–3.5(–5), relatively firm, ± thick to ± thin, margins entire, apex acute, callus tips 0–0.1 mm, firm but not spinelike, terminal segment 5–8 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.
1–4 per plant, 1 per stem, ascending or erect, not inflated, 3–24 cm, exceeding leaves, 1–3 mm wide 1 cm below umbel, glabrous or scaberulous distally.
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.
1–3.5 cm wide in flower, 1.5–4.2(–9) cm wide in fruit, rays 10–17, spreading to ascending, 1.5–8 cm in fruit, unequal, glabrous or glabrate;
involucel bractlets 5–9, usually distinct, sometimes basally connate, linear to lanceolate, 2.5–4(–5) mm, shorter than flowers, margins scarious, not ciliate, entire, glabrous or finely puberulent.
petals purple to dark pink, glabrous;
anthers purple;
ovary and young fruit glabrous.
petals yellow, glabrous;
anthers yellow;
ovary and young fruit glabrous.
(5.5–)6.5–8(–9) mm, shorter than fruit.
3–15 mm, shorter than 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, elliptic to oblong or slightly lanceolate, (4.9–)6–8.2(–10) × 3.5–7.4 mm, length/width ratio 1.6–2.8;
wings 0.9–1.2(–1.5) mm wide, 30–75% of body width, paler than body;
abaxial ribs raised, riblike or winglike but much narrower than lateral wings;
apex rounded;
oil ducts 1 in intervals, 2 on commissure.
Lomatium minus
Lomatium serpentinum
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 serpentinum grows along the Snake River and its tributaries in western Idaho, northeastern Oregon, and extreme southeastern Washington. Most of its habitat below Clarkston, Washington, was destroyed by damming of the Snake River. Remaining populations may be threatened by agricultural development and grazing, although it usually grows on steep slopes that offer it some protection. Lomatium serpentinum has a pleasant parsleylike odor and a thick woody taproot with branching caudex. Its leaves are hairless but may be obscurely roughened by papillae. Ultimate leaf segments are small and lie all in the same plane, unlike those of L. papilioniferum. Lomatium sandbergii is similar but grows at high elevations in the Rocky Mountains.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
OR
Flora NW
PNW Herbaria
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
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