''Lomatium howellii'' is an uncommon 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 name Howell's biscuitroot, or Howell's lomatium. It is native to the

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 ...

of southern

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 Idah ...

and northern

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 ...

, where it is a member of the local serpentine soils flora.

Description

''Lomatium howellii'' is a perennial herb growing up to 80 centimeters tall from a thick, branching

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 ...

. It often lacks a stem, producing upright

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed ...

s and leaves from ground level. The long leaves may exceed a meter long and are each made up of many oval or rounded toothed leaflets. The inflorescence 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'' " ...

of small yellow or purplish flowers.

External links

Calflora Database: ''Lomatium howellii'' (Howell's biscuitroot, Howell's lomatium)Jepson Manual eFlora treatment of ''Lomatium howellii''USDA Plants Profile for ''Lomatium howellii'' (Howell's biscuitroot)UC CalPhoto gallery of ''Lomatium howellii''
howellii Flora of California Flora of Oregon Flora of the Klamath Mountains Endemic flora of the United States Natural history of the California Coast Ranges Taxa named by Willis Linn Jepson Taxa named by Sereno Watson Plants described in 1885 Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Apiaceae-stub