''Lomatium erythrocarpum'', known by the common name redfruit desertparsley, is a rare species of flowering plant in the carrot family. 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 is limited to a section of the Blue Mountains within Baker County.''Lomatium erythrocarpum''.
The Nature Conservancy. Retrieved 10-17-2011. This wild plant is a petite perennial herb with leaves that lie against the ground and a flowering stalk that grows just a few centimeters tall. The hairless, gray-green, waxy-textured leaves are finely divided into many tiny segments. The leaf morphology may help it retain heat and increase

photosynthesis Photosynthesis is a process used by plants and other organisms to convert light energy into chemical energy that, through cellular respiration, can later be released to fuel the organism's activities. Some of this chemical energy is stored i ...

, which is necessary because it grows at high elevations. It also lets the plant bloom earlier in the season. The leaves grow during or after flowering, which begins in June.''Lomatium erythrocarpum''.
Center for Plant Conservation. Retrieved 10-17-2011. 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 ...

of flowers with purple

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined b ...

s and tiny purple-striped white petals. The shiny, oval-shaped fruit is often red-tinged. It may be up to a centimeter long. The flowers are

pollinated Pollination is the transfer of pollen from an anther of a plant to the stigma of a plant, later enabling fertilisation and the production of seeds, most often by an animal or by wind. Pollinating agents can be animals such as insects, birds, ...

by a

syrphid fly Hover flies, also called flower flies or syrphid flies, make up the insect family Syrphidae. As their common name suggests, they are often seen hovering or nectaring at flowers; the adults of many species feed mainly on nectar and pollen, while ...

and possibly a

bumblebee A bumblebee (or bumble bee, bumble-bee, or humble-bee) is any of over 250 species in the genus ''Bombus'', part of Apidae, one of the bee families. This genus is the only extant group in the tribe Bombini, though a few extinct related gener ...

. This plant grows only on the Elkhorn Ridge of the Blue Mountains in eastern Oregon. It occurs at

elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Vert ...

s above 2500 meters (8200 feet). It can be found in the

ecotone An ecotone is a transition area between two biological communities, where two communities meet and integrate. It may be narrow or wide, and it may be local (the zone between a field and forest) or regional (the transition between forest and gras ...

between the shrub-steppe habitat and

subalpine Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...

woodland. Shrub-steppe is dominated by

mountain mahogany ''Cercocarpus'', commonly known as mountain mahogany, is a small genus of at least nine species of nitrogen-fixing flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae. They are native to the western United States and northern Mexico, where they grow i ...

(''Cercocarpus ledifolius'') and

sagebrush Sagebrush is the common name of several woody and herbaceous species of plants in the genus ''Artemisia''. The best known sagebrush is the shrub ''Artemisia tridentata''. Sagebrushes are native to the North American west. Following is an alph ...

(''Artemisia tridentata''), and the woodlands feature white-bark pine (''Pinus albicaulis'') and Engelmann's spruce (''Picea engelmannii''). Other species in the area include Applegate's paintbrush (''Castilleja applegatei''), blue flax (''Linum lewisii''), Cusick's biscuitroot (''Lomatium cusickii''), goosefoot violet (''Viola purpurea''), mountain phlox (''Phlox austromontana''), and spike trisetum (''Trisetum spicatum''). It occurs in open areas with full sun. It does not appear to tolerate soils high in

calcium Calcium is a chemical element with the symbol Ca and atomic number 20. As an alkaline earth metal, calcium is a reactive metal that forms a dark oxide-nitride layer when exposed to air. Its physical and chemical properties are most similar to ...

. One threat to this rare plant is the

mountain goat The mountain goat (''Oreamnos americanus''), also known as the Rocky Mountain goat, is a hoofed mammal endemic to mountainous areas of western North America. A subalpine to alpine species, it is a sure-footed climber commonly seen on cliffs and ...

, which is an

introduced species An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived there ...

in the area. Climate change is also expected to have negative effects on this high-elevation plant.

References

External links

USDA Plants Profile
{{Taxonbar, from=Q6669227 erythrocarpum Flora of Oregon Baker County, Oregon Plants described in 1984 Endemic flora of Oregon Endemic flora of the United States