''Lomatium ochocense'' is a rare species of flowering plant in the carrot family known by the common name Ochoco lomatium. 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 else ...

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

, where it is limited to the

Ochoco Mountains The Ochoco Mountains are a mountain range in central Oregon in the United States, located at the western end of the Blue Mountains. They were formed when Permian, Triassic, and Jurassic rocks were slowly uplifted by volcanic eruptions to form ...

of Crook County. This plant was discovered in 1994 and described to science as a new species in 2010. It is a small

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 wid ...

herb growing up to 8 centimeters tall. It grows from a large black root up to 3 centimeters in diameter. The waxy blue-green leaves are divided into many overlapping segments. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphology (biology), Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of sperma ...

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 ...

of flowers that extends out horizontally. The flowers are

andromonoecious Andromonoecy is a breeding system of plant species in which male and hermaphrodite flowers are on the same plant. It is a monomorphic sexual system alongside monoecy, gynomonoecy and trimonoecy. Andromonoecy is frequent among genera with zygomor ...

, either bisexual or only

staminate The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...

with no female parts. The tiny petals are yellow. This plant grows among many other species of ''Lomatium'' and it can be distinguished by its blue-green leaves with overlapping leaflets.Helliwell, R. (2010)
A new ''Lomatium'' (Apiaceae) from the Ochoco Mountains of central Oregon.
''J Bot Res Inst Texas'' 4(1) 7-11. Retrieved 10-17-2011. This plant is restricted to scabland habitat with exposed bedrock. Other plants in the area include scabland sagebrush (''Artemisia rigida''), pine bluegrass (''Poa secunda''), rock onion (''Allium macrum''),

bitterroot Bitterroot (''Lewisia rediviva'') is a small perennial herb in the family Montiaceae. Its specific epithet ("revived, reborn") refers to its ability to regenerate from dry and seemingly dead roots. The genus '' Lewisia'' was moved in 2009 fro ...

(''Lewisia rediviva''), Henderson's needlegrass (''Achnatherum hendersonii''), and wormleaf stonecrop (''Sedum stenopetalum''). ''Lomatium'' species are common. Though the plant is a local endemic, the populations are quite large and are located on Bureau of Land Management land with few threats to their survival.

References

External links

USDA Plants Profile
ochocense Flora of Oregon Crook County, Oregon Plants described in 2010 Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Apiaceae-stub Endemic flora of Oregon Endemic flora of the United States