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Lomatium latilobum
(Canyonlands Biscuitroot) Semi-desert, foothills.
Shrublands, canyons. Spring. Canyonlands Biscuitroot is a Southeast Utah/Western Colorado endemic found primarily in the Entrada and Navajo Sandstones of Arches National Park and Colorado National Monument. One-to-two inch diameter clusters of yellow-green flowers stand well above the dark green broadly lobed leaves. This plant is eye-catching, for it is often solitary, standing out against sandy soils, often very close to sandstone fins and walls. Roots of this and related species were dried and pounded into a flour, thus the common name "Biscuitroot". "Latilobum", meaning "broadly lobed", refers to the leaf lobes, especially as distinguished from the finely cut leaves of Lomatium parryi below. The first specimen of this plant was collected by Per Axel Rydberg in Utah around 1900. |
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Lomatium latilobum
(Canyonlands Biscuitroot) Semi-desert, foothills.
Shrublands, canyons. Spring. |
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Lomatium latilobum
(Canyonlands Biscuitroot) Semi-desert, foothills.
Shrublands, canyons. Spring. This eye-catching mound of Lomatium latilobum is about two and one half feet in diameter and a foot high and it illustrates the way in which plants such as Canyonlands Biscuitroot stabilize soil and create micro-habitats. Such mounds are a common site in Utah's canyon country. |
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Lomatium
parryi Semi-desert, foothills.
Shrublands, canyons. Spring. Since umbels of golden yellow flowers are quite common in the Lomatium and Cymopterus genera, we might at first despair in our attempts to identify the plant at left, but note the distinguishing very finely cut, fern-like leaves, the persistence of leaves from previous years, the height often to over a foot tall, and the (sometimes) red flower stems. Location and blooming time also help to separate the species in the Lomatium and Cymopterus genera. More distinguishing characteristics are noted below. Charles Parry was a 19th century physician and eminent botanical collector for whom a number of species shown in this web site are named. He collected the first specimen of this plant in Utah, probably in the 1870s. (More biographical information about Parry.) |
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Lomatium
parryi Semi-desert, foothills.
Shrublands, canyons. Spring. |
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Lomatium
parryi Semi-desert, foothills.
Shrublands, canyons. Spring. Leaves are divided into fine, pointed leaflets; leaf stems persist for several seasons; bractlets of the involucels can be entire (as here) or divided; flowers fade from yellow to white. |
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Lomatium
parryi Semi-desert, foothills.
Shrublands, canyons. Spring. Seeds are numerous and showy. |
Range map © John Kartesz,
County Color Key
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Range map for Lomatium latilobum
Range map for Lomatium parryi |
Species present in state and native
Species present in state and exotic
Species not present in state
Species present and not rare
Species present and rare
Species extirpated (historic)
Species extinct
Species noxious
Species exotic and present
Eradicated
Questionable presence
