''Lomatium roseanum'', adobe parsley, also known as adobe lomatium and rose-flowered desert-parsley, is a very rare plant of the Western U.S., known only from northwestern

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

and southeastern

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

, and which may also occur in northeastern

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 ...

. The largest populations occur on the

Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge The Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge is a United States National Wildlife Refuge, national wildlife refuge on the northern border of the U.S. state of Nevada. A very small part extends northward into Oregon. It is managed by the United States ...

. It is a member of the celery family, the

Umbelliferae 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 ...

, and has yellow flowers.

Technical description

Plant Plants are the eukaryotes that form the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Plantae; they are predominantly Photosynthesis, photosynthetic. This means that they obtain their energy from sunlight, using chloroplasts derived from endosymbiosis with c ...

perennial, long-lived, usually over 10 cm tall, glabrous, somewhat caulescent at the base. *

Root In vascular plants, the roots are the plant organ, organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often bel ...

tuberous, thick. *

Leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

green, shiny, ternate, with ternate-pinnately dissected leaflets, the ultimate segments numerous and small (<1 cm); petiole dilated (flared out) and sheathing at the base. *Scapes (peduncles) ascending, arcuate (curved), 15–20 cm long. *Involucels with slender bractlets. *

Flower Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

s yellow, aging to whitish. *

Fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...

only very narrowly laterally winged; dorsal ribs wingless.

Distribution, habitat, and ecology

The range of adobe parsley is extremely limited: it is known only from

Washoe County Washoe County () is a county in the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 486,492, making it Nevada's second-most populous county. Its county seat is Reno. Washoe County is included in the Reno, NV Metropolitan Statis ...

in Nevada and nearby places in southeastern Oregon, where it has possibly already been extirpated. It is also suspected to exist in

Humboldt County, Nevada Humboldt County is a county in the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 17,285. It is a largely rural county that is sparsely populated with the only major city being Winnemucca which has a population of 8,431. Hum ...

. Fewer than 20 known populations exist, though these can be large. Adobe parsley lives in loose, rocky habitat. Specifically, it prefers dry

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

talus scree overlying

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolinite, ). Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impuriti ...

soils. It associates with the

low sagebrush ''Artemisia arbuscula'' is a North American species of sagebrush known by the common names little sagebrush, low sagebrush, or black sagebrush. It is native to the western United States from Washington, Oregon, and California east as far as Color ...

community, and specific associates include ''

Artemisia arbuscula ''Artemisia arbuscula'' is a North American species of sagebrush known by the common names little sagebrush, low sagebrush, or black sagebrush. It is native to the western United States from Washington, Oregon, and California east as far as Colo ...

'', ''

Poa secunda ''Poa secunda'' (variously known by the common names of Sandberg bluegrass, alkali bluegrass, big bluegrass, Canby's bluegrass, Nevada bluegrass, one-sided bluegrass, Pacific bluegrass, pine bluegrass, slender bluegrass, wild bluegrass, and curly ...

'', ''

Elymus elymoides ''Elymus elymoides'' is a species of wild rye known by the common name squirreltail. This grass is native to central and western North America. Description ''Elymus elymoides'' is a perennial bunch grass growing to around in height. Its erect ...

'', '' Arenaria aculeata'', ''

Phlox ''Phlox'' (; "flame"; plural "phlox" or "phloxes", ) is a genus of 68 species of perennial and annual plants in the family Polemoniaceae. They are found mostly in North America (one in Siberia) in diverse habitats from alpine tundra to open ...

'' spp., '' Erigeron linearis'', etc. The

fire ecology Fire ecology is a scientific discipline concerned with the effects of fire on natural ecosystems. Many ecosystems, particularly prairie, savanna, chaparral and coniferous forests, have evolved with fire as an essential contributor to habitat vit ...

is unknown for members of this

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

. The

community type within which adobe parsley lives generally lacks enough

fuel A fuel is any material that can be made to react with other substances so that it releases energy as thermal energy or to be used for work (physics), work. The concept was originally applied solely to those materials capable of releasing chem ...

s to carry a fire. When it does burn, these non-fire adapted shrubs are usually killed and replaced by medusahead and

cheatgrass ''Bromus tectorum'', known as downy brome, drooping brome, or cheatgrass, is a winter annual grass native to Europe, southwestern Asia, and northern Africa, but has become invasive in many other areas. It now is present in most of Europe, south ...

, and re-establish low sagebrush vegetation through time (2 to 5 years) via

seed In botany, a seed is a plant structure containing an embryo and stored nutrients in a protective coat called a ''testa''. More generally, the term "seed" means anything that can be Sowing, sown, which may include seed and husk or tuber. Seeds ...

Conservation status and threats

U.S. Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands covering of land. The major divisions of the agency are the Chief's ...

: Pacific Southwest Region Sensitive Species *

California Native Plant Society The California Native Plant Society (CNPS) is a California environmental non-profit organization (501(c)(3)) that seeks to increase understanding of California's native flora and to preserve it for future generations. The mission of CNPS is to c ...

: Not Listed (not known from California) *

Nevada Natural Heritage Program Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, the ...

: Sensitive Plant *

NatureServe NatureServe, Inc. is a non-profit organization based in Arlington County, Virginia, United States, US, that provides proprietary wildlife conservation-related data, tools, and services to private and government clients, partner organizations, and ...

Nevada State Rank: S2S3; Global Rank: G2

Field identification

Adobe parsley occurs between and above sea level. It flowers and may be most easily recognized in early spring, i.e., between April and June. It stands out because of its tuberous root, yellow flowers, and green shiny leaves. It resembles '' L. hendersonii'', which is found farther north, but is more robust (larger) and somewhat caulescent.

References

External links

USDA Plants Profile of ''Lomatium roseanum''Calflora Database: ''Lomatium roseanum'' (Biscuitroot)

{{Taxonbar, from=Q6669268 roseanum Flora of California Flora of Nevada Flora of Oregon Flora of the Great Basin Endemic flora of the United States Endangered flora of the United States Plants described in 1900 Taxa named by Arthur Cronquist