''Lomatium dissectum'' 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 plan ...

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 The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, ...

, Rocky Mountains, Klamath Mountains, eastern Transverse Ranges and the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...

in California. ''L. dissectum'' is a perennial herb reaching up to tall, growing from a thick taproot. 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 is an umbel of many small yellow or reddish flowers, each cluster on a leafless stem up to 10 cm long. The fruits resemble

pumpkin seeds A pumpkin seed, also known in North America as a pepita (from the Mexican es, pepita de calabaza, "little seed of squash"), is the edible seed of a pumpkin or certain other cultivars of squash. The seeds are typically flat and asymmetrically ...

. 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