''Lomatium observatorium'' is a rare 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 Mt. Hamilton desertparsley and Mount Hamilton lomatium. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found els ...

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 known only from the mountains of

Santa Clara County Santa Clara County, officially the County of Santa Clara, is the sixth-most populous county in the U.S. state of California, with a population of 1,936,259, as of the 2020 census. Santa Clara County and neighboring San Benito County together f ...

, including Mount Hamilton near the Lick Observatory.The Nature Conservatory
/ref> It may also occur in

Stanislaus County , image_skyline = , image_caption = Images, from top down, left to right: Modesto Arch, Knights Ferry's General Store, a view of the Tuolumne River from Waterford , image_flag = , i ...

. Its habitat includes mountain woodlands on volcanic and

metamorphosed Metamorphic rocks arise from the transformation of existing rock to new types of rock in a process called metamorphism. The original rock (protolith) is subjected to temperatures greater than and, often, elevated pressure of or more, causi ...

sedimentary rock Sedimentary rocks are types of rock that are formed by the accumulation or deposition of mineral or organic particles at Earth's surface, followed by cementation. Sedimentation is the collective name for processes that cause these particle ...

substrates. Described The plant to science as a new species in 1996, the plant is a perennial herb growing low to the ground, the lightly hairy herbage growing from a long

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 ...

.Constance, L. and B. Ertter. (1996). Post-manual adjustments in Californian ''Lomatium'' (Apiaceae). ''Madroño'' 43:4 515-521. The leaf blades are up to 12 centimeters long and are intricately divided into many subdivided lobes, the smallest segments linear or lance-shaped and pointed. The blades are borne on petioles a few centimeters in length. The

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 ...

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 one or more clusters of tiny flowers borne on a

peduncle Peduncle may refer to: *Peduncle (botany), a stalk supporting an inflorescence, which is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed *Peduncle (anatomy), a stem, through which a mass of tissue is attached to a body **Peduncle (art ...

, which is very short or elongated, up to 20 centimeters tall.

References

External links

Jepson Manual TreatmentUSDA Plants ProfileU.C. Photos gallery
observatorium Endemic flora of California Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Diablo Range Natural history of the California Coast Ranges Natural history of Santa Clara County, California Plants described in 1996 Taxa named by Lincoln Constance {{Apiaceae-stub