''Perideridia'' is a genus of plants in the family
Apiaceae. Plants in this genus are known generally as yampah or yampa. They are native to western North America. Similar in appearance to other plants of the family
Apiaceae, they have
umbels of white flowers.
Name
The genus is based on the
Greek word ''perideri'', meaning 'necklace'.
Description
The plants have a unique appearance for members of the
parsley
Parsley, or garden parsley (''Petroselinum crispum'') is a species of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae that is native to the central and eastern Mediterranean region (Sardinia, Lebanon, Israel, Cyprus, Turkey, southern Italy, Greece, Por ...
family, and are tall (1–3 feet) and grasslike, with threadlike leaves 1–6 inches long that resemble blades of grass. The plants effectively mimic tall grass and are virtually invisible until they flower, since they tend to grow in grassy meadows, and prefer full sunlight. Like most members of the parsley family, yampah produces umbels of white flowers.
The small roots of yampah are about the size of a large unshelled peanut.
Distribution and habitat
The plants are widely distributed in moist open meadows and hillsides up to across Western North America.
Uses
Plains Indians
Plains Indians or Indigenous peoples of the Great Plains and Canadian Prairies are the Native American tribes and First Nation band governments who have historically lived on the Interior Plains (the Great Plains and Canadian Prairies) of N ...
named the plant 'Yampah' and consumed its starchy bulbs, some of which taste like carrots.
''
Perideridia gairdneri
''Perideridia gairdneri'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae known by the common names common yampah, Gardner's yampah and Squaw root. It is native to western North America from southwestern Canada to California to New Mexico, ...
'' was an important staple crop of Native Americans in Western North America. The nutlike roots of the plant are crunchy and mildly sweet, and resemble
water chestnuts Water chestnut may refer to either of two plants (both sometimes used in Chinese cuisine):
* The Chinese water chestnut ('' Eleocharis dulcis''), eaten for its crisp corm
* The water caltrop
The water caltrop is any of three extant species of th ...
in texture and flavor.
Yampah roots were either baked or steamed, and were reported to have excellent flavor and nutritional qualities. The seeds of yampah were used as a seasoning and resemble caraway seeds in flavor. Yampah roots contain rapidly assimilatable carbohydrates, and were used by hunters and runners as a high energy food to enhance physical endurance.
Uncooked yampah roots are a gentle laxative if consumed in excess and were used medicinally for this purpose.
It resembles the highly toxic
poison hemlock and
water hemlock.
Species
References
External links
USDA Plants ProfileJepson Manual Treatment
{{Taxonbar, from=Q7168437
Apioideae genera
Edible Apiaceae