[The Genus Cymopterus East of the Cascade Mts. of Oregon and Washington]

Aromatic Spring-parsley, Fennel Cymopterus, Fennel-leaved Cymopterus, Turpentine Wavewing

Cymopterus terebinthinus var. foenicaulaceus

Synonym: Pteryxia terebinthina var. foeniculacea

The photo above shows several clumps of aromatic spring-parsley (var. foenicaulaceus) as seen on steep south-facing slopes along Forest Road #40 near Sunset Point in the Umatilla National Forest, southeastern Washington.......June 25, 2007.

Umbel of Aromatic Spring-parsley, Fennel Cymopterus, Turpentine Wavewing: Cymopterus terebinthinus var. foeniculaceus (Synonym: Pteryxia terebinthina var. foeniculacea)

Inflorescence of aromatic spring-parsley (var. foenicaulaceus) at right........May 26, 1997.

Characteristics:

Aromatic spring-parsley is an aromatic perennial wildflower with one to several ascending stems from 10-60 cm high. The herbage of the leaves and stems is glabrous. The numerous leaves are largely basal with one or more leaves below the middle of the stem. The compound leaves are broadly ovate in outline with blades measuring from 3-18 cm long and from half to nearly as wide as the length. The blades are ternate-pinnately dissected with many small, crowded, long and slender segments oriented in one plane (as opposed to oriented in many planes as in Pungent Desert Parsley Lomatium grayi).

The inflorescence is an umbel with several rays which elongate unequally up to 1.5 cm long. At flowering, the umbel ranges from 1.5-3 cm wide. Narrow green bractlets from 2-6 mm long may be found beneath the umbelets. The flowers are yellow while the calyx is greenish. The fruits are ovoid to ovoid-oblong, ranging from 5-11 mm long with the lateral wings about equal to the body or narrower, the dorsal wings often narrower than the the lateral. The wings of the fruit are rarely if at all crisped in this variety.

Varieties:

Variety foenicaulaceus: Plants of the foothills to moderate elevation in the mountains and often found in dry, open and rocky places. The inflorescence during flowering is 1-3 cm wide. The segments of the leaves are relatively long and slender. The wings of the fruits are rarely if at all crisped. The dorsal wings are narrower than the broader lateral wings that are now wider than the body. Found from the Blue Mts. of northeastern and central Oregon and southeastern Washington east across the Snake River Plains of central Oregon to western Montana.

Variety terebinthinus: Plants of low elevation, found frequently on open, sandy areas. The inflorescence during flowering is 3-7 cm wide. The segments of the leaves are relatively short and broad. The wings of the fruits are fairly strongly crisped. All the wings are similar and equal to or often broader than the body. Found on the Columbia Plateau of Washington and northern Oregon.

Habitat:

Aromatic spring-parsley may be found on dry, open and rocky slopes from the foothills to moderate elevations in the mountains.

Range:

Aromatic spring-parsley (variety foeniculaceus) may be found from the Blue Mts. of northeastern and central Oregon and southeastern Washington east across the Snake River Plains of central Oregon to western Montana.

Additional close-up photos of aromatic spring-parsley as seen at the north trailhead to Baldy Mt.., Malheur N.F.......July 2, 2010.

The photo above shows the fruits of aromatic spring-parsley as seen at the Squaw Creek Viewpoint off of Interstate 84 between Pendleton, OR and Meacham, OR.......May 29, 1999.

Aromatic spring-parsley in bloom on gravelly soils along the Canyon Mountain Trail, Strawberry Mountain Wilderness..........May 29, 2014.

Aromatic spring-parsley blooming on rock outcroppings along the Gray Butte Trail #852 about 2 miles south of the McCoin Orchard trailhead, Crooked River National Grasslands.........May 20, 2017.

Aromatic spring-parsley blooming at left along the Alder Springs Trail #855, Crooked River National Grasslands just downstream to the north of the crossing of the dry waterfall.......May 11, 2018. The photo at right shows aromatic spring-parsley blooming along the Skyline Trail #385 adjacent to the High Lakes Trailhead, Strawberry Mountain Wilderness.....July 8, 2023.

The photo above shows part of the leaf of aromatic spring-parsley as seen in the Blue Mts.

The photo at left shows an attractive cluster of aromatic spring-parsley (var. foeniculaceus) as seen on steep south-facing slopes along Forest Road #40 near Sunset Point in the Umatilla National Forest, southeastern Washington................June 25, 2007. The photo at right shows a close-up of the developing fruits of aromatic spring-parsley (var. foeniculaceus) as observed on dry, open slopes along the South Prong Trail #821, Black Canyon Wilderness.......June 16, 2019.

Paul Slichter