Perideridia

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Perideridia
Perideridiamontana.jpg
Perideridia gairdneri subsp. borealis
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: Oenantheae
Genus: Perideridia
Rchb.
Type species
Perideridia americana
(Nutt.) Rchb. ex Steud. 1829
Species

About 12; see text

Perideridia is a genus of plants in the family Apiaceae. Plants in this genus are known generally as yampah or yampa. They are native to western North America. Similar in appearance to other plants of the family Apiaceae, they have umbels of white flowers.

Contents

Name

The genus is based on the Greek word perideri, meaning 'necklace'. [1]

Description

The plants have a unique appearance for members of the parsley family, and are tall (1–3 feet) and grasslike, with threadlike leaves 1–6 inches long that resemble blades of grass. The plants effectively mimic tall grass and are virtually invisible until they flower, since they tend to grow in grassy meadows, and prefer full sunlight. Like most members of the parsley family, yampah produces umbels of white flowers. [1] The small roots of yampah are about the size of a large unshelled peanut.[ citation needed ]

Distribution and habitat

The plants are widely distributed in moist open meadows and hillsides up to 7,500 feet (2,300 m) across Western North America. [2]

Uses

Plains Indians named the plant 'Yampah' and consumed its starchy bulbs, some of which taste like carrots. [1]

Perideridia gairdneri was an important staple crop of Native Americans in Western North America. The nutlike roots of the plant are crunchy and mildly sweet, and resemble water chestnuts in texture and flavor.

Yampah roots were either baked or steamed, and were reported to have excellent flavor and nutritional qualities. The seeds of yampah were used as a seasoning and resemble caraway seeds in flavor. Yampah roots contain rapidly assimilatable carbohydrates, and were used by hunters and runners as a high energy food to enhance physical endurance.

Uncooked yampah roots are a gentle laxative if consumed in excess and were used medicinally for this purpose. [2]

It resembles the highly toxic poison hemlock and water hemlock.

Species

ImageNameCommon nameDistributionCytology [3]
Wild dill (Perideridia americana).jpg Perideridia americana eastern yampahMidwestern United Statesn=20
Perideridia bacigalupii Mother Lode yampah, Bacigalupi's yampahSierra Nevada foothills, California
Perideridia bolanderi (34489290904).jpg Perideridia bolanderi Bolander's yampahwestern United Statesn=19
Perideridia californica California yampahCentral Coast Ranges and a section of the Sierra Nevada foothills, Californian=22
Perideridia erythrorhiza Lois Shoemaker lg.jpg Perideridia erythrorhiza redroot yampah, western yampahOregon in the United States
Perideridia gairdneri 1.jpg Perideridia gairdneri Gardner's yampah, common yampah, Indian carawaywestern North America from southwestern Canada to California to New Mexicon=40,60
Perideridia howellii Howell's yampahOregon and northern Californian=20
J20160721-0005--Perideridia kelloggii--RPBG (28442798402).jpg Perideridia kelloggii Kellogg's yampahSan Francisco Bay Area, and the Sierra Nevada foothills, Californian=20
Perideridia lemmonii Lemmon's yampahfrom southeastern Oregon, western Nevada, and the mountains of eastern California
Perideridia leptocarpa narrowseed yampahCalifornia, Oregonn=17
Perideridia montana Gairdner's YampahMontana
Perideridiaoregana.jpg Perideridia oregana Oregon yampah, squaw potatoOregon and California in the western United Statesn=8, 9, 10
Perideridia parishii yampah umbel top.jpg Perideridia parishii Parish's yampah, Sierra Queen Anne's lacesouthwestern United Statesn=19
Perideridia pringlei adobe yampahCalifornian=20

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<i>Cicuta</i> Genus of plants

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<i>Anthriscus sylvestris</i> Species of flowering plant

Anthriscus sylvestris, known as cow parsley, wild chervil, wild beaked parsley, Queen Anne's lace or keck, is a herbaceous biennial or short-lived perennial plant in the family Apiaceae (Umbelliferae), genus Anthriscus. It is also sometimes called mother-die, a name that is also applied to the common hawthorn. It is native to Europe, western Asia and northwestern Africa. It is related to other diverse members of Apiaceae, such as parsley, carrot, hemlock and hogweed. It is often confused with Daucus carota, another member of the Apiaceae also known as "Queen Anne's lace" or "wild carrot".

<i>Eryngium yuccifolium</i> Species of flowering plant in the celery family Apiaceae

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<i>Ligusticum porteri</i> Species of flowering plant

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<i>Sium suave</i> Species of flowering plant

Sium suave, the water parsnip or hemlock waterparsnip, is a perennial wildflower in the family Apiaceae. It is native to many areas of both Asia and North America. The common name water parsnip is due to its similarity to parsnip and its wetland habitat. The alternate common name hemlock waterparsnip is due to its similarity to the highly poisonous spotted water hemlock.

<i>Oenanthe pimpinelloides</i> Species of flowering plant

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<i>Perideridia bolanderi</i> Species of flowering plant

Perideridia bolanderi is a species of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae known by the common name Bolander's yampah. It is native to the western United States, where it grows in many types of habitat. It is a perennial herb which may approach one meter in maximum height, its slender, erect stem growing from tubers measuring up to 7 centimeters long. Leaves near the base of the plant have blades up to 20 centimeters long which are divided into many subdivided lobes of various sizes and shapes; the terminal segments are usually lined with teeth. Leaves higher on the plant are smaller and less divided. The inflorescence is a compound umbel of many spherical clusters of small white flowers. These yield ribbed, oblong-shaped fruits about half a centimeter long. The Atsugewi and Miwok of California used the tuberous roots of this plant for food.

<i>Perideridia gairdneri</i> Species of flowering plant

Perideridia gairdneri is a species of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae known by the common names common yampah, Gardner's yampah and Squaw root. It is native to western North America from southwestern Canada to California to New Mexico, where it grows in many types of habitat. It is a perennial herb which grows to around .6–1 metre (2.0–3.3 ft). Its slender, erect stem grows from cylindrical tubers measuring up to 8 centimeters long. Leaves near the base of the plant have blades up to 35 centimeters long which are divided into many narrow, subdivided lobes. Leaves higher on the plant are smaller and less divided. The inflorescence is a compound umbel of many spherical clusters of small white flowers. These yield ribbed, rounded fruits each a few millimeters long.

Perideridia lemmonii is a species of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae known by the common names Lemmon's yampah and tuni. It is native to the western United States, where it is known from southeastern Oregon, western Nevada, and the mountains of eastern California. It grows in meadows, forests, and other habitat. It is a perennial herb approaching one meter in maximum height, its slender, erect stem growing from usually a single small tuber about 1.5 centimeters long. Leaves near the base of the plant have blades up to 30 centimeters long divided into one or two pairs of leaflets, each of which may be subdivided. The inflorescence is a compound umbel of many spherical clusters of small white flowers. These yield ribbed, round or oblong-shaped fruits each under half a centimeter long.

<i>Perideridia oregana</i> Species of flowering plant

Perideridia oregana is a species of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae known by the common names Oregon yampah and eppaw. It is native to Oregon and California in the western United States, where it grows in woodland and other habitat. This plant is quite variable in appearance. In general, it is a perennial herb 10 to 90 centimeters tall, its green to waxy-grayish erect stem growing from a cluster of small tubers. Leaves near the base of the plant have blades 3 to 30 centimeters long divided into a variable number of leaflets, which may be subdivided into smaller segments. The inflorescence is a compound umbel of many spherical clusters of small white flowers. These yield ribbed, oblong-shaped fruits 3 to 6 millimeters long.

<i>Perideridia parishii</i> Species of flowering plant

Perideridia parishii is a species of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae known by the common name Parish's yampah. It is native to mountainous regions of the southwestern United States, where it grows in forests and other habitat. It is a perennial herb growing up to 90 centimeters tall, its slender green stem growing from a small tuber. Leaves near the base of the plant have blades 10 to 20 centimeters long divided into pairs of leaflets, which may be subdivided or lobed. The inflorescence is a compound umbel of many spherical clusters of small white flowers. These yield ribbed, round or oblong-shaped fruits each about half a centimeter long.

<i>Bistorta bistortoides</i> Species of flowering plant in the buckwheat family Polygonaceae

Bistorta bistortoides is a perennial herb in the buckwheat and knotweed family Polygonaceae. The species name remains unresolved.

<i>Angelica capitellata</i> Species of flowering plant

Angelica capitellata, synonym Sphenosciadium capitellatum, is a species of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae. When treated as Sphenosciadium capitellatum, it was the only species in the monotypic genus Sphenosciadium. It is known by the common names woollyhead parsnip, ranger's buttons, button parsley, and swamp white heads.

<i>Perideridia erythrorhiza</i> Species of flowering plant

Perideridia erythrorhiza is a rare species of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae known by the common names western yampah and redroot yampah. It is endemic to Oregon in the United States, where there are about 20 occurrences. The populations occur in three regions in southwestern Oregon, which are separated by more than 50 miles (80 km). The three separate groups are in the Klamath Mountains and on either side of the Cascade Range.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Taylor, Ronald J. (1994) [1992]. Sagebrush Country: A Wildflower Sanctuary (rev. ed.). Missoula, MT: Mountain Press Pub. Co. p. 98. ISBN   0-87842-280-3. OCLC   25708726.
  2. 1 2 Gregory L. Tilford (1997). Edible and Medicinal Plants of the West. Mountain Press Publishing. ISBN   978-0-87842-359-0.
  3. Stephen R. Downie; Feng-Jie Sun; Deborah S. Katz-Downie & Gina J. Collett (2004). "A Phylogenetic Study of Perideridia (Apiaceae) Based on Nuclear Ribosomal DNA ITS Sequences" (PDF). Systematic Botany. 29 (3): 737–751. doi:10.1600/0363644041744437. S2CID   37252459. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-01-22.