Lomatium

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Cladus: Asterids
Cladus: Campanulids
Ordo: Apiales

Familia: Apiaceae
Subfamilia: Apioideae
Tribus: Selineae
Genus: Lomatium
Species: L. ambiguum – L. attenuatum – L. austiniae – L. basalticum – L. bentonitum – L. bicolor – L. bradshawii – L. brandegeei – L. brunsfeldianum – L. californicum – L. canbyi – L. caruifolium – L. ciliolatum – L. columbianum – L. concinnum – L. congdonii – L. cookii – L. cous – L. cusickii – L. cuspidatum – L. dasycarpum – L. dissectum – L. donnellii – L. eastwoodiae – L. engelmannii – L. erythrocarpum – L. farinosum – L. foeniculaceum – L. fusiformis – L. geyeri – L. gormanii – L. graveolens – L. grayi – L. greenmanii – L. hallii – L. hendersonii – L. hooveri – L. howellii – L. idahoense – L. insulare – L. junceum – L. juniperinum – L. knokei – L. laevigatum – L. latilobum – L. linearifolium – L. lithosolamans – L. lucidum – L. macrocarpum – L. marginatum – L. martindalei – L. minimum – L. minus – L. mohavense – L. multifidum – L. nevadense – L. nudicaule – L. nuttallii – L. observatorium – L. ochocense – L. oreganum – L. orientale – L. packardiae – L. parryi – L. parvifolium – L. pastoralis – L. peckianum – L. piperi – L. planosum – L. quintuplex – L. ravenii – L. repostum – L. rigidum – L. rollinsii – L. roseanum – L. salmoniflorum – L. sandbergii – L. scabrum – L. serpentinum – L. shevockii – L. simplex – L. stebbinsii – L. suksdorfii – L. swingerae – L. tamanitchii – L. tarantuloides – L. tenuissimum – L. thompsonii – L. torreyi – L. tracyi – L. triternatum – L. tuberosum – L. utriculatum – L. vaginatum – L. watsonii
Source(s) of checklist:

Hassler, M. 2018. Lomatium. World Plants: Synonymic Checklists of the Vascular Plants of the World In: Roskovh, Y., Abucay, L., Orrell, T., Nicolson, D., Bailly, N., Kirk, P., Bourgoin, T., DeWalt, R.E., Decock, W., De Wever, A., Nieukerken, E. van, Zarucchi, J. & Penev, L., eds. 2018. Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2018 Sep 05. Reference page.

Name

Lomatium Raf.

Type species: Lomatium villosum
Synonyms

Cogswellia Spreng.
Cusickia M. E. Jones
Cynomarathrum Nutt.
Euryptera Nutt. ex Torr. & A. Gray
Leibergia J. M. Coult. & Rose
Leptotaenia Nutt. ex Torr. & A. Gray

References
Primary references

Rafinesque-Schmaltz, C.S. 1819. Journal de Physique, de Chimie, d'Histoire Naturelle et des Arts 89: 101.

Additional references

Feist, M.A.E., Smith, J.F., Mansfield, D.H., Darrach, M., McNeill, R.P., Downie, S.R., Plunkett, G.M. & Wilson, B.L. 2017. New combinations in Lomatium (Apiaceae, subfamily Apioideae). Phytotaxa 316(1): 95–98. DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.316.1.11 Reference page.
Sun, F.J., Downie, S.R., van Wyk, B.E. & Tilney, P.M. 2004. A molecular systematic investigation of Cymopterus and its allies (Apiaceae) based on phylogenetic analyses of nuclear (ITS) and plastid (rps16 intron) DNA sequences. South African Journal of Botany 70(3): 407-416. DOI: 10.1016/S0254-6299(15)30223-4 PDF Reference page.

Links

Hassler, M. 2018. Lomatium. World Plants: Synonymic Checklists of the Vascular Plants of the World In: Roskovh, Y., Abucay, L., Orrell, T., Nicolson, D., Bailly, N., Kirk, P., Bourgoin, T., DeWalt, R.E., Decock, W., De Wever, A., Nieukerken, E. van, Zarucchi, J. & Penev, L., eds. 2018. Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2018 Sep 05. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2017. Lomatium. Published online. Accessed: Sep 14 2017.
Tropicos.org 2017. Lomatium. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published on the internet. Accessed: 14 Sep 2017.
USDA, ARS, Germplasm Resources Information Network. Lomatium in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service.

Vernacular names
English: Biscuit Root, Desert Parsley
español: Raíces Biscuits

Lomatium is a genus of about 75 species[1] of perennial herbs native to western North America; 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.
Description

Roots range from woody taproots to more fleshy underground tuberous-thickened roots. Most lomatiums are desert species or grow on bluffs where water is limited for most of the year. They are green and grow the most during the spring when water is available, 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

Lomatium ambiguum
Lomatium austiniae
Lomatium bicolor
Lomatium bradshawii
Lomatium brandegeei
Lomatium californicum
Lomatium canbyi
Lomatium caruifolium
Lomatium ciliolatum
Lomatium columbianum
Lomatium congdonii
Lomatium cookii
Lomatium cous
Lomatium cusickii
Lomatium cuspidatum
Lomatium dasycarpum
Lomatium dissectum
Lomatium donnellii
Lomatium engelmannii
Lomatium erythrocarpum
Lomatium farinosum
Lomatium foeniculaceum
Lomatium geyeri
Lomatium gormanii
Lomatium grayi
Lomatium greenmanii
Lomatium hallii
Lomatium hendersonii
Lomatium howellii
Lomatium insulare
Lomatium laevigatum
Lomatium latilobum
Lomatium lucidum
Lomatium macrocarpum
Lomatium marginatum
Lomatium martindalei
Lomatium minus
Lomatium mohavense
Lomatium nevadense
Lomatium nudicaule
Lomatium observatorium
Lomatium ochocense
Lomatium oreganum
Lomatium parryi
Lomatium parvifolium
Lomatium piperi
Lomatium ravenii
Lomatium repostum
Lomatium rigidum
Lomatium rollinsii
Lomatium roseanum
Lomatium salmoniflorum
Lomatium serpentinum
Lomatium shevockii
Lomatium stebbinsii
Lomatium suksdorfii
Lomatium tamanitchii
Lomatium thompsonii
Lomatium torreyi
Lomatium tracyi
Lomatium triternatum
Lomatium tuberosum
Lomatium utriculatum
Lomatium vaginatum
Lomatium watsonii

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 range, they exist nowhere else, and are few to begin with.
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. 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.
References

Lomatium. The Jepson Manual.
Hitchcock & Cronquist (1973). Flora of the Pacific Northwest. University of Washington Press. pp. 327–334. ISBN 0295952733.
"Lomatium Raf". The International Plant Names Index. Retrieved 2021-08-28.
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.
Nyerges, Christopher (2017). Foraging Washington: Finding, Identifying, and Preparing Edible Wild Foods. Guilford, CT: Falcon Guides. ISBN 978-1-4930-2534-3. OCLC 965922681.