''Lomatium dissectum'' is a species of flowering plant in the carrot family known by the common names fernleaf biscuitroot and fernleaf desert parsley. It is native to much of western North America, where it grows in varied habitat. It is found in the eastern slopes of the Cascade Range,

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico ...

Klamath Mountains The Klamath Mountains are a rugged and lightly populated mountain range in northwestern California and southwestern Oregon in the western United States. As a mountain system within both the greater Pacific Coast Ranges and the California Coast ...

, eastern

Transverse Ranges The Transverse Ranges are a group of mountain ranges of southern California, in the Pacific Coast Ranges physiographic region in North America. The Transverse Ranges begin at the southern end of the California Coast Ranges and lie within Santa ...

and the Sierra Nevada in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. ''L. dissectum'' is a perennial herb reaching up to tall, growing from a thick

taproot A taproot is a large, central, and dominant root from which other roots sprout laterally. Typically a taproot is somewhat straight and very thick, is tapering in shape, and grows directly downward. In some plants, such as the carrot, the taproo ...

. The leaves are mostly attached near the base of the plant, spreading with petioles up to long and large blades divided into many small, narrow 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 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 many small yellow or reddish flowers, each cluster on a leafless stem up to 10 cm long. The fruits resemble pumpkin seeds. There are two varieties of ''Lomatium dissectum'', both of which can be either yellow or purple in color when in bloom, but are distinguished by longer or shorter stalks on the fruit. Screening tests have been performed on root extracts of ''L. dissectum'' to assess its activity against viruses and bacteria. Lomatium dissectum var. multifidum mature seeds.jpg, Mature seeds of var. ''multifidum'' Lomatium dissectum var. dissectum green fruit 2.jpg, Green seeds of var. ''dissectum''

References

External links

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Jepson Manual Treatment - ''Lomatium dissectum''USDA Plants Profile''Lomatium dissectum'' - Photo gallery
dissectum Flora of Western Canada Flora of the Western United States Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Flora of California Natural history of the Transverse Ranges Taxa named by Lincoln Constance Taxa named by Mildred Esther Mathias Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Apiaceae-stub