''Lomatium fusiformis'',

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

''Orogenia fusiformis'', is a species of flowering plant in the carrot family. It is known by the common name California Indian potato. It is native to the western United States from

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

, where it grows in high mountains in rocky, gravelly habitat. It is a small perennial herb growing from a carrot-like

tuber Tubers are a type of enlarged structure used as storage organs for nutrients in some plants. They are used for the plant's perennation (survival of the winter or dry months), to provide energy and nutrients for regrowth during the next growing ...

up to a centimeter wide. Leaves are located around the base of the plant, each with a blade made up of a few linear lobes a few centimeters in length. There is usually no stem but 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 ...

arises on a stemlike peduncle up to about 15 centimeters tall. The inflorescence is a compound

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 many tiny white flowers with dark anthers. The fruit is an ovoid body a few millimeters long lined with prominent longitudinal ribs.

References

External links

Jepson Manual Treatment - ''Orogenia fusiformis''USDA Plants Profile: Orogenia fusiformis''Orogenia fusiformis'' - Photo gallery
Apioideae Flora of California Flora of Oregon Flora of Idaho Flora of Montana Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Flora of the Rocky Mountains Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Apiaceae-stub