''Lomatium cookii'' is a rare species of flowering plant in the carrot family known by the common names Cook's lomatium and agate desertparsley. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

in the United States, where it grows in only two valleys. It is a federally listed

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...

. This plant was first collected in 1981USFWS
Determination of Endangered Status for ''Lomatium cookii'' and ''Limnanthes floccosa'' ssp. ''grandiflora'' from southern Oregon; Final Rule.
''Federal Register'' November 7, 2002. during a survey for the rare ''

Limnanthes floccosa ''Limnanthes floccosa'', or woolly meadowfoam, is a species of meadowfoam found in Northern California and Southern Oregon, in the United States. Most of the subspecies have highly restricted distributions and are listed as critical or endangere ...

'' ssp. ''grandiflora'', the big-flowered woolly meadowfoam.''Lomatium cookii''.
Center for Plant Conservation. It was described as a new species in 1986.Kagan, J. S. 1986. A new species of ''Lomatium'' (Apiaceae) from southwestern Oregon. ''Madroño''. 33: 71-75. The plant grows only in the

Agate Desert The Agate Desert is a prairie located near White City, Oregon, of which is protected as the Agate Desert Preserve. The area is not in fact a desert as its name suggests; it is so named because of the abundance of agate, petrified wood, jasper, and ...

of Jackson County and the Illinois Valley of Josephine County in southwestern Oregon. It occurs in vernally wet habitat types, including

vernal pool Vernal pools, also called vernal ponds or ephemeral pools, are seasonal pools of water that provide habitat for distinctive plants and animals. They are considered to be a distinctive type of wetland usually devoid of fish, and thus allow the safe ...

s and adjacent mounds and wet

floodplain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...

s.''Lomatium cookii''.

The Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US. Founded in 1951, The Natu ...

. One population of the plant occurs at

Rogue Valley International-Medford Airport A rogue is a person or entity that flouts accepted norms of behavior. Rogue or rogues may also refer to: Companies * Rogue Ales, a microbrewery in Newport, Oregon * Rogue Arts, a film production company * Rogue Entertainment, a software comp ...

, where soil has been deposited over

hardpan In soil science, agriculture and gardening, hardpan or soil pan is a dense layer of soil, usually found below the uppermost topsoil layer. There are different types of hardpan, all sharing the general characteristic of being a distinct soil layer ...

such that conditions are similar to vernal pool margins, allowing it to take hold there. Other plants that can be found in the vernal pool and floodplain habitat types include ''Limnanthes floccosa'' (woolly meadowfoam), ''

Alopecurus geniculatus ''Alopecurus geniculatus'' is a species of Poaceae, grass known by the common name water foxtail or marsh foxtail. It is native to much of Eurasia and introduced into North America, South America, and Australia. It grows in moist areas. ''Alopec ...

'' (water foxtail), ''

Deschampsia danthonioides ''Deschampsia danthonioides'' is a species of Poaceae, grass known by the common name annual hairgrass. It is native to western North America from the Yukon Territory and British Columbia, through California and the Western United States, to Baja ...

'' (annual hairgrass), ''

Danthonia californica ''Danthonia californica'' is a species of grass known by the common name California oatgrass. This plant is native to two separate regions of the Americas, western North America from California to Saskatchewan, and Chile. Description ''Danthonia ...

'' (California oatgrass), '' Poa scabrella'' (pine bluegrass), and ''

Brodiaea ''Brodiaea'' , also known by the common name cluster-lilies, is a monocot genus of flowering plants. One school of thought places the genus in the family , while another school of thought places it in the subfamily Brodiaeoideae of the family ...

'' spp. (brodiaeas or clusterlilies).

Description

This is a perennial herb growing or tall. The leaves are located around the base of the stem. They have blades up to long that are intricately dissected into many small, narrow lobes. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

is an

umbel In botany, an umbel is an inflorescence that consists of a number of short flower stalks (called pedicels) that spread from a common point, somewhat like umbrella ribs. The word was coined in botanical usage in the 1590s, from Latin ''umbella'' "p ...

bearing clusters of yellow flowers on several ascending branches. The fruit is roughly by wide and is lined with thick, corky wings.

Endangered species

This plant was added to the Endangered Species List in 2002 because it is rare and its habitat is being destroyed and degraded. Vernal pools have nearly disappeared from an area where they were once widespread in this section of Oregon as the land has been consumed for

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

pasture Pasture (from the Latin ''pastus'', past participle of ''pascere'', "to feed") is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep, or swine ...

s, residential tracts, industrial operations, and commercial areas. Land not directly destroyed has been altered in such a way that its

hydrology Hydrology () is the scientific study of the movement, distribution, and management of water on Earth and other planets, including the water cycle, water resources, and environmental watershed sustainability. A practitioner of hydrology is calle ...

no longer supports vernal pool

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...

s. The

blacktop Asphalt concrete (commonly called asphalt, blacktop, or pavement in North America, and tarmac, bitumen macadam, or rolled asphalt in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland) is a composite material commonly used to surface roads, parkin ...

of roads and

parking lot A parking lot (American English) or car park (British English), also known as a car lot, is a cleared area intended for parking vehicles. The term usually refers to an area dedicated only for parking, with a durable or semi-durable surface ...

s produces

runoff Runoff, run-off or RUNOFF may refer to: * RUNOFF, the first computer text-formatting program * Runoff or run-off, another name for bleed, printing that lies beyond the edges to which a printed sheet is trimmed * Runoff or run-off, a stock market ...

, and

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow Crop, crops, Landscape plant, landscape plants, and Lawn, lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,00 ...

and

ditches A ditch is a small to moderate divot created to channel water. A ditch can be used for drainage, to drain water from low-lying areas, alongside roadways or fields, or to channel water from a more distant source for plant irrigation. Ditches ar ...

distribute water differently. Additionally,

habitat fragmentation Habitat fragmentation describes the emergence of discontinuities (fragmentation) in an organism's preferred environment (habitat), causing population fragmentation and ecosystem decay. Causes of habitat fragmentation include geological processes ...

has occurred as the land was sectioned for use and bisected by roads and other structures. In 2002 the plant was known from only 15 sites in Jackson County and 21 sites in Josephine County.

References

External links

''Lomatium cookii''.
ODA Plant Division, Plant Conservation.
Photo gallery
{{Taxonbar, from=Q6669210 cookii Flora of Oregon Plants described in 1986