Carrotleaf Biscuit Root, Fern-leaf Desert Parsley, Fern-leaved Desert Parsley
Lomatium multifidum
Synonyms: Leptotaenia multifida, Lomatium dissectum var. eatonii, Lomatium dissectum var. multifidum
The photo above shows a close-up of the inflorescence of fern-leaf desert parsley (var. multifidum) as seen atop Steptoe Butte.........April 29, 2006. Note
the long, thin bracts at the base of each umbellet.
The photo at right shows fern-leaf desert parsley (var. multifidum) along the lower Deschutes River, OR.....north
of Sherar's Bridge........3/22/97.
Characteristics:
Fern-leaf desert parsley is an attractive perennial wildflower
with several ascending, glabrous stems arising 40-150 cm high from a large,
fleshy to woody, carrot-shaped taproot. The large leaves are generally basal,
with up to 2 leaves on the lower stems. The leaves are 15-30 cm long and ternate-pinnately
dissected into small and narrow segments about 1 cm long.
The inflorescence is an umbel of 10-30 equal to subequal rays
topped by small umbellets, the longest rays 4-10 cm long. The several bracts
at the base of each umbellet are narrowly linear while the pedicels in fruit
are 4-20 mm long. The flowers are yellow or dark purplish. The fruits are elliptic
in shape, measuring 8-17 mm long and 4.5-10 mm wide with the lateral wings narrow
and thickened but less than 2 mm wide.
Varieties:
var. dissectum: Fruits sessile
or nearly so. Leaves not so finely dissected, the segments broader, often 2-4
mm wide. Found westward from the eastern base of the Cascade Mts. from southern
British Columbia south to northern California, and also in northern Idaho.
var. eatonii: Fruits borne on short stems 4-20
mm long. Leaves not so finely dissected, the segments broader, often 2-4 mm
wide (See photo below.). Found from central and northeastern Oregon east to
southern Idaho, southern Wyoming, and south to Utah, Arizona, Nevada and southern
California.
var. multifidum: Fruits borne on short stems 4-20
mm long. Leaves finely dissected, the segments linear and 0.5-1.5 mm wide (See
photos above.). Found from southern British Columbia and Alberta south to central
Oregon, northern Wyoming, central Idaho, and northern Nevada.
Habitat:
Fern-leaf desert parsley may be found on open rocky talus slopes
and in dry rocky meadows from the lowlands to moderate elevation in the mountains.
Range:
Fern-leaf desert parsley may be found from southern British
Columbia and Alberta south on both sides of the Cascade Mts. through Washington
and Oregon to southern California and east to the Rocky Mts. of Colorado and
Arizona.
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The photo above left shows a close-up of the thin bracts or involucel at the base of one umbellet of fern-leaf desert parsley (var. multifidum) as seen atop Steptoe Butte.........April 29, 2006.
The photo at right shows a close-up of the mature fruits of var. multifidum as seen atop Steptoe Butte........June 22, 2009.
The photo above shows fern-leaf desert parsley (var. multifidum) as seen atop Steptoe Butte........April 29, 2006. Note the long, thin bracts at the base of each umbellet.
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The photo at left shows fern-leaf desert parsley (var. multifidum) as seen near Hog Lake, a BLM site east of Sprague, WA.........April 27, 2006.
The photo at righr shows fern-leaf desert parsley blooming along the Holland Falls National Recreation Trail #416, Flathead National Forest......May 27, 2023.
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Fern-leaf desert parsley (var. multifidum) as seen scattered along the west bank of the John Day River up to three miles downstream of the Cottonwood Canyon State Park campground.........April 6, 2015.
Fern-leaf desert parsley (var. multifidum) as seen scattered along the west bank of the John Day River up to three miles downstream of the Cottonwood Canyon State Park campground.........October 25, 2017.
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Fern-leaf desert parsley blooming on rocky slopes above the John Day River along the Hardstone Trail, Cottonwood Canyon State Park......March 26, 2021.
Lomatium dissectum var. multifidum
along lower Deschutes River, OR.....north of Sherar's Bridge.....3/22/97.
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The 2 photos seen directly above show close-up vies of the narrow leaf segments of fern-leaf desert parsley (var. multifidum) as seen along the trail between Buckhorn Lookout and Eureka Bar, Wallowa-Whitman N.F.......June 27, 2008.
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Additional close-up views of fernleaf desert parsley as seen along Joseph Creek Road in extreme southern Asotin County, WA.........May 24, 2010.
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Fernleaf desert parsley as seen along the Round Mountain South Trail #805 just south of the summit of Round Mt., Ochoco National Forest.........May 28, 2016.
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Carrotleaf desert parsley blooming in ponderosa pine forest along the Headquarters Trail, Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge......May 8, 2019.
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Fernleaf desert parsley as seen on talus at Domingo Pass in the Pueblo Mountains of southeastern Oregon.........May 31, 2012.
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Fernleaf desert parsley (var. multifidum) blooming at left along the Sprague Highway about one mile west of Miller Ranch Road, eastern Washington..........April 28, 2014. The photo at right shows newly emerged vegetation of fernleaf desert parsley (var. multifidum) along the Pallisades Trail, Cottonwood Canyon State Park......March 22, 2019.
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Fernleaf desert parsley (var. multifidum) as seen on rocky slopes directly above the east bank of the John Day River about one-half mile downstream from Oregon Highway 206 in Cottonwood Canyon State Park.......April 9, 2016.
Paul Slichter