''Lomatium cous'' (cous biscuitroot) is a

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

herb In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal ...

of the family

Apiaceae Apiaceae or Umbelliferae is a family of mostly aromatic flowering plants named after the type genus ''Apium'' and commonly known as the celery, carrot or parsley family, or simply as umbellifers. It is the 16th-largest family of flowering plants ...

. The root is prized as a food by the tribes of the southern plateau of the Pacific Northwest.

Meriwether Lewis Meriwether Lewis (August 18, 1774 – October 11, 1809) was an American explorer, soldier, politician, and public administrator, best known for his role as the leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery, with ...

collected a specimen in 1806 while on his expedition.Schiemann, Donald Anthony. Wildflowers of Montana, page 174. Mountain Press Publishing Company, Missoula, 2005. It is called x̣áwš in the

Sahaptin language Sahaptin or Shahaptin, endonym Ichishkin, is one of the two-language Sahaptian branch of the Plateau Penutian family spoken in a section of the northwestern plateau along the Columbia River and its tributaries in southern Washington, northern Ore ...

, and qáamsit (when fresh) and qáaws (when peeled and dried) in the

Nez Perce language Nez Perce, also spelled Nez Percé or called Nimipuutímt (alternatively spelled ''Nimiipuutímt'', ''Niimiipuutímt'', or ''Niimi'ipuutímt''), is a Sahaptian language related to the several dialects of Sahaptin (note the spellings ''-ian'' vs ...

. It is called shappelell by the Chinooks: "... and a kind of bisquit, which the natives make of roots called by them shappelell." -- Meriwether Lewis, Friday, January 9th, 1806. From The Definitive Journals of Lewis & Clark, Down the Columbia to Fort Clatsop. Volume 6 of the Nebraska Edition. Gary E. Moulton, Editor. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, 1990.

References

External links

cous Flora of the Northwestern United States Endemic flora of the United States Plants used in Native American cuisine Taxa named by John Merle Coulter Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Apiaceae-stub