''Ligusticum grayi'' is a species of flowering plant in the

carrot family Apiaceae () or Umbelliferae is a family of mostly aromatic flowering plants named after the type genus ''Apium,'' and commonly known as the celery, carrot, or parsley family, or simply as umbellifers. It is the 16th-largest family of flowering p ...

known by the common name Gray's licorice-root. It is native to the western United States from

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, where it grows in moist, mountainous habitat, such as meadows and forest floors. It is a carrotlike, perennial herb growing from a

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 taproot ...

to heights between 20 and 80 centimeters. The leaves are like those of its relatives, including

celery Celery (''Apium graveolens'' Dulce Group or ''Apium graveolens'' var. ''dulce'') is a cultivated plant belonging to the species ''Apium graveolens'' in the family Apiaceae that has been used as a vegetable since ancient times. The original wild ...

, each divided into several leaflets with pointed lobes. The

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

is a compound

umbel UMBEL (Upper Mapping and Binding Exchange Layer) is a logically organized knowledge graph of 34,000 concepts and entity types that can be used in information science for relating information from disparate sources to one another. It was retired ...

of many small, white flowers. The

Atsugewi The Atsugewi are Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans residing in northeastern California, United States. Their traditional lands are near Mount Shasta, specifically the Pit River drainage on Burney, California, Burney, Hat, an ...

used various parts of this plant for medicinal and other uses.Ethnobotany
/ref> The species could be confused with

poison hemlock ''Conium maculatum'', commonly known as hemlock (British English) or poison hemlock (American English), is a highly poisonous flowering plant in the carrot family Apiaceae, native to Europe and North Africa. It is herbaceous, with no woody parts, ...

References

External links

Jepson Manual Treatment: ''Ligusticum grayi''USDA Plants Profile''Ligusticum grayi'' — U.C. Photo gallery
grayi Flora of California Flora of Idaho Flora of Montana Flora of Nevada Flora of Oregon Flora of the Cascade Range Flora of the Klamath Mountains Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Flora of the Great Basin Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Apiaceae-stub