Lomatium

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Lomatium
Lomatium utriculatum 6416.JPG
Lomatium utriculatum
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Apiales
Family: Apiaceae
Subfamily: Apioideae
Tribe: Selineae
Genus: Lomatium
Raf. [1]
Species

See text.

Synonyms [1]
  • CogswelliaSpreng.
  • CusickiaM.E.Jones
  • CynomarathrumNutt. ex Coult. & Rose
  • LeptotaeniaNutt.
  • OrogeniaS.Watson

Lomatium is a genus in the family Apiaceae. It consists of about 100 species native to western Northern America and northern Mexico. [1] Its common names include biscuitroot, Indian parsley, and desert parsley. [2] It is in the family Apiaceae and therefore related to many familiar edible species such as carrots and celery; some Lomatium species are extensively used by Native Americans in the inland Northwest as a staple food.

Contents

Description

Roots range from woody taproots to more fleshy underground tuberous-thickened roots. Most lomatiums are desert species or grow on bluffs or mountain slopes where water is limited for most of the year. They are green and grow the most during the spring when water is available, and many species then set seed and dry out completely above ground before the hottest part of the year, while storing the energy they gained from photosynthesizing while water was available to them in their deep roots. For most of the year, the plant is not visible; the brown tops often are blown off or easily crushed, but it lies dormant underground for the next spring.

The flowers are arranged in compound umbels, without involucral bracts (or with inconspicuous bracts). The flowers are white or yellow, more rarely a purple or maroon color. As with most Apiaceae, the fruit sets the genus apart from other yellow- or white-flowered look-alikes such as Cymopterus and Orogenia. Uniquely, they are dorsally flattened and winged, which can be papery or corky, but help the seed to disperse further on the wind. The dorsal ribs may or may not be on the fruit, but are narrowly winged if at all. [2] Leaves are mainly basal and dissected (ternately, pinnately, or ternate-pinnately dissected or compound), many look like ferns or can be mistaken for them.

Taxonomy

The genus Lomatium was established by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque in 1819. Kurt Sprengel published the name Cogswellia in 1920; this is regarded as an illegitimate name as it was superfluous. [3]

Selected species

As of December 2022, Plants of the World Online accepted the following species: [1]

Ecology

It grows in a variety of habitats throughout western North America, from coastal bluffs to piles of basalt rock.

Conservation concerns

Many species' habitats are under threat by grazing, development, and wildfires. Also, some concern exists about particular species such as L. dissectum, which is mainly harvested from the wild for herbal uses.

Because the genus is so difficult to identify, but has great genetic diversity, new species are still being found today such as L. tarantuloides,. [4] Many species often have a very limited geographical range, with the plants being few in number.

Cultivation and uses

Several species, including L. cous , [5] L. geyeri , and L. macrocarpum , are sometimes known as biscuit roots for their starchy edible roots. These are or have been traditional Native American foods, eaten cooked or dried and ground into flour. [6] Some Native Americans ground Lomatium into mush and shaped it into cakes and stored them for later use. Their flavor has been compared to celery, parsnip, or stale biscuits.

Related Research Articles

Vesper multinervatus, synonym Cymopterus multinervatus, is a species of flowering plant in the carrot family Apiaceae, known by the common name purplenerve springparsley. It is a perennial herb native to the southwestern United States, including the desert regions. It is stemless, producing leaves and inflorescence at ground level from a taproot. The leaves are erect on petioles of a few centimeters in length, with a fleshy blade dissected into waxy multilobed leaflets. The inflorescence arises on a stout purple or greenish peduncle up to about 14 centimeters tall. At the top is a rounded cluster of purple flowers sheathed in purple-veined bracts.

<i>Aletes</i> (plant) Genus of flowering plants

Aletes has been regarded a genus of flowering plants in the family Apiaceae, all of which are endemic to North America. As of December 2022, Plants of the World Online regarded Aletes as a synonym of Cymopterus, while GRIN Taxonomy regarded it as a possible synonym of that genus.

<i>Ammoselinum</i> Genus of flowering plant

Ammoselinum is a genus of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae, known commonly as sandparsley. It is native to temperate North and South America.

<i>Dalea</i> Genus of legumes

Dalea is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae. Members of the genus are commonly known as prairie clover or indigo bush. Its name honors English apothecary Samuel Dale (1659–1739). They are native to the Western hemisphere, where they are distributed from Canada to Argentina. Nearly half of the known species are endemic to Mexico. Two species of Dalea have been considered for rangeland restoration.

<i>Sanicula</i> Genus of flowering plants

Sanicula is a genus of plants in family Apiaceae, the same family to which the carrot and parsnip belong. This genus has about 45 species worldwide, with at least 22 in North America. The common names usually include the terms sanicle or black snakeroot.

<i>Cymopterus</i> Genus of flowering plants

Cymopterus is a genus of perennial plants in the family Apiaceae native to western North America. They are commonly known as the spring parsleys. They are mostly stemless, taprooted perennial herbs with leaves at ground level and flowering scapes bearing yellow, white, or purple flowers.

Niphogeton is a genus of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae.

<i>Perityle</i> Genus of flowering plants

Perityle is a genus of flowering plants in the daisy family. They are known generally as rock daisies.

<i>Lomatium cuspidatum</i> Species of flowering plant

Lomatium cuspidatum is a perennial herb of the family Apiaceae, native to the U.S. state of Washington. It is found primarily on open rocky slopes in the Wenatchee Mountains, strongly associated with serpentine scree and soils.

<i>Lomatium donnellii</i> Species of flowering plant

Lomatium donnellii is a perennial herb of the family Apiaceae, in the Western United States.

<i>Lomatium grayi</i> Species of flowering plant

Lomatium grayi, commonly known as Gray's biscuitroot, Gray's desert parsley, or pungent desert parsley, is a perennial herb of the family Apiaceae. It is native to Western Canada in British Columbia, and the Western United States, including from the Eastern Cascades and northeastern California to the Rocky Mountains.

Prionosciadium is a genus in the carrot family, Apiaceae. It is endemic to Mexico. The plants are biennial herbs with large taproots.

<i>Lomatium plummerae</i> Species of flowering plant

Lomatium plummerae is a formerly recognized species of plant in the carrot family (Apiaceae). When recognized, it was subdivided into a number of subspecies and varieties. As of August 2021, Plants of the World Online considers the species itself and the variety helleri to be synonyms of Lomatium donnellii, and the varieties austiniae and sonnei as synonyms of Lomatium austiniae, whereas the Jepson eFlora considers the species and the varieties austiniae and sonnei to be synonyms of Lomatium donnellii.

Spermolepis is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Apiaceae.

<i>Polytaenia</i> Genus of flowering plants

Polytaenia is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Apiaceae.

Donnellsmithia is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Apiaceae.

Rhodosciadium is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Apiaceae.

<i>Lomatium orientale</i> Species of flowering plant

Lomatium orientale, commonly known as salt-and-pepper, eastern cous, eastern desert-parsley, eastern lomatium, white-flowered desert-parsley, oriental desert parsley or Northern Idaho biscuitroot, is a small spring blooming ephemeral plant. It grows in open habitats from the plains to foothills in western North America. It is known as one of the earliest blooming native flowers in its habitat. The species name, "orientale", is botanical Latin meaning "eastern".

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Lomatium Raf." Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 2022-12-24.
  2. 1 2 Hitchcock & Cronquist (1973). Flora of the Pacific Northwest . University of Washington Press. pp.  327–334. ISBN   0295952733.
  3. ↑ "Lomatium Raf". The International Plant Names Index . Retrieved 2021-08-28.
  4. ↑ Darrach, M.E.; C.E. Hinchlif (18 February 2014). "Lomatium tarantuloides (Apiaceae), a new narrowly endemic species from northeast Oregon" (PDF). Phytoneuron. 2014 (27): 1–8. Retrieved 2 May 2014.
  5. ↑ Nyerges, Christopher (2017). Foraging Washington: Finding, Identifying, and Preparing Edible Wild Foods. Guilford, CT: Falcon Guides. ISBN   978-1-4930-2534-3. OCLC   965922681.
  6. ↑ Taylor, Ronald J. (1994) [1992]. Sagebrush Country: A Wildflower Sanctuary (rev. ed.). Missoula, MT: Mountain Press Pub. Co. p. 96. ISBN   0-87842-280-3. OCLC   25708726.
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