''Lomatium cuspidatum'' (Wenatchee desertparsley) 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, native to the U.S. state of

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

. It is found primarily on open rocky slopes in the Wenatchee Mountains, strongly associated with serpentine scree and soils. Burke Herbarium Image Collection, http://biology.burke.washington.edu/herbarium/imagecollection/taxon.php?Taxon=Lomatium%20cuspidatum Hitchcock, C.L. and Cronquist, A. 2018. Flora of the Pacific Northwest, 2nd Edition, p. 654. University of Washington Press, Seattle.

Description

Plants are small, usually less than 20 cm (8 inches) tall. Foliage has a blue-gray to green color, and is held on thick fleshy stalks. Leaves are fleshy and are dissected into leaflets that have a sharp extended tip, referred to by the species name cuspidatum. Flowers appear early in the growth season (May to June) and are held above the foliage in a compound umbel on thick fleshy stalks that arise from the base of the plant. The flowers are brownish purple to brownish red in color. Lomatium cuspidatum JHT-1

Similar plants with yellow flowers and flatter leaflets that grow in the northern Wenatchee Mountains on non-serpentine soil are now classified as a distinct species ''

Lomatium roneorum ''Lomatium roneorum'', Rone's desert-parsley or Rone's biscuit-root, is a species of ''Lomatium ''Lomatium'' is a genus in the family Apiaceae. It consists of about 100 species native to western Northern America and northern Mexico. Its common ...

''. Darrach, M.E. 2018. Lomatium roneorum (Apiaceae), a new species from the east slopes of the Cascade Mountains, Washington state. Phytoneuron 2018-78: 1–12.

Range and Ecology

''Lomatium cuspidatum'' 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 ...

to serpentine regions (north Teanaway) of the Wenatchee Mountains in Washington State. It grows on seasonally dry sunny slopes composed mostly of small loose rocks ( scree) and unstratified soils that are largely derived from

serpentinite Serpentinite is a rock composed predominantly of one or more serpentine group minerals, the name originating from the similarity of the texture of the rock to that of the skin of a snake. Serpentinite has been called ''serpentine'' or ''ser ...

rock. Kruckeberg, A.R. 2002. Geology and Plant Life: The Effects of Landforms and Rock Types on Plants, University of Washington Press, Seattle. Due to seasonal dryness, slope instability, and the unusual mineral composition of serpentine-related rocks, such slopes support a sparse and very restricted flora, including four species found only in this region (''Lomatium cuspidatum'', '' Chaenactis thompsonii'', '' Oreocarya thompsonii'', and '' Poa curtifolia''). Several other plants are less narrowly restricted but are notably associated with serpentine soils and bedrock outcrops in the Wenatchee Mountains, including '' Polystichum lemmonii'', ''

Ivesia tweedyi ''Ivesia tweedyi'', Tweedy's mousetail or Tweedy's ivesia, is a perennial herb in the rose family. It is native to the Pacific Northwest in the United States, from Washington east to westernmost Montana. Taxonomy ''Ivesia tweedyi'' was describe ...

'', ''

Androsace nivalis ''Androsace nivalis'' is a species of flowering plant in the primrose family Primulaceae with the common name snow dwarf-primrose. It was previously placed in the genus ''Douglasia'', which is now known to be nested within ''Androsace''. Descrip ...

'', ''

Adiantum aleuticum ''Adiantum aleuticum'', the western maidenhair fern or Aleutian maidenhair, is a species of deciduous fern in the genus ''Adiantum''. Description ''A. aleuticum'' typically grows about 18-30 inches tall and wide. The fronds grow tall, and are f ...

'', ''

Aspidotis densa ''Aspidotis densa'' is a species of fern in the Cheilanthoid subfamily, known by the common name Indian's dream or Serpentine fern or dense lace fern. It is native to the west coast of North America from British Columbia to California and east t ...

'', '' Galium serpenticum'', and '' Claytonia megarhiza''.

References

cuspidatum Flora of Washington (state) {{Apiaceae-stub