TREATMENT FROM THE JEPSON MANUAL	previous taxon | next taxon Jepson Interchange (more information)
	©Copyright 1993 by the Regents of the University of California Print edition is available from the University of California Press

	The second edition of The Jepson Manual (2012) is available from the University of California Press
	See also the Jepson eFlora, which parallels the Second Edition

APIACEAE

CARROT FAMILY

Lincoln Constance

Annual, biennial, perennial herb (rarely shrub, tree), often from taproot
Stem often ± scapose, generally ribbed, hollow
Leaves basal and generally some cauline, generally alternate; stipules generally 0; petiole base generally sheathing stem; blade generally much dissected, sometimes compound
Inflorescence: umbel or head, simple or compound, generally peduncled; bracts present (in involucres) or not; bractlets generally present (in involucels)
Flowers many, small, generally bisexual (or some staminate), generally radial (or outer bilateral); calyx 0 or lobes 5, small, atop ovary; petals 5, free, generally ovate or spoon-shaped, generally incurved at tips, generally ± ephemeral; stamens 5; pistil 1, ovary inferior, 2-chambered, generally with a ± conic, persistent projection or platform on top subtending 2 free styles
Fruit: 2 dry, 1-seeded halves that separate from each other but generally remain attached for some time to a central axis; ribs on each half 5, 2 marginal and 3 on back; oil tubes 1–several per interval between ribs
Genera in family: 300 genera, 3,000 species: ± worldwide, especially temp; many cultivated for food or spice (e.g., Carum, caraway; Daucus; Petroselinum); some highly toxic (e.g., Conium). Underground structures here called roots, but true nature remains problematic. Mature fruit generally critical in identification; shapes generally given in outline, followed by shape in X -section of 2 fruit halves together.

LIGUSTICUM

Perennial, taprooted, glabrous to minutely scabrous
Stem erect, leafy, generally fibrous at base, generally branched
Leaf: blade oblong to round, ternately or pinnately compound or dissected, leaflets oblong to obovate, entire to deeply pinnately lobed, segments linear to oblong
Inflorescence: compound umbels; bracts generally 0; bractlets 0 or inconspicuous; rays, pedicels few–many, spreading-ascending
Flower: calyx lobes minute; petals wide, white (or pinkish)
Fruit oblong to elliptic, slightly compressed side-to-side; ribs subequal, thread-like to narrowly winged; oil tubes per rib-interval generally several; fruit axis divided to base
Seed: face flat to concave
Species in genus: ± 25 species: Eurasia, North America
Etymology: (Liguria, Italy, home of the related Levisticum, lovage)
Reference: [Leute 1970 Ann Naturhist Mus Wien 74:457–519]
Genus and species poorly defined.

Native

L. californicum J.M. Coult. & Rose

Plant 6–12 dm, glabrous
Leaf: petiole 0.5–4 dm; blade 1–3 dm wide, triangular-ovate, ternate-pinnate, leaflets 1.5–4 cm, oblong to ovate, segments generally wide, obtuse, shallowly to deeply pinnately lobed; cauline leaves ± = basal, generally 2–3, upper subsessile, sometimes paired
Inflorescence: peduncles generally whorled, terminal 1.5–4 dm, lateral generally staminate; rays generally 16–30, 2–6 cm, unequal; pedicels 5–10 mm, unequal
Fruit 4–6 mm, oblong-ovate; ribs narrowly winged; oil tubes per rib-interval several
Seed: face concave
Ecology: Chaparral, woods, often on serpentine
Elevation: 15–1500 m.
Bioregional distribution: North Coast, Klamath Ranges, High Cascade Range, n Sierra Nevada Foothills
Distribution outside California: sw Oregon
Horticultural information: DFCLT.