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.

LOMATIUM

Perennial from taproot or generally deep-seated tuber, glabrous to tomentose
Stem 0 or erect, simple or branched; base fibrous (from old leaf sheaths) or not
Leaf: blade oblong to triangular-ovate or obovate, ternately, pinnately, or ternate-pinnately dissected or compound, segments or leaflets thread-like to wide
Inflorescence: umbels compound, peduncled; bracts generally 0; bractlets generally present, 0 to conspicuous; rays, pedicels spreading to erect, often webbed at base
Flower: calyx lobes generally 0; petals wide, yellow, white, or purple, tips narrowed; projection atop ovary 0
Fruit linear to obovate, very compressed front-to-back; marginal ribs widely to narrowly thin or thick-winged, others thread-like; oil tubes per rib-interval 1–several; fruit axis divided to base
Seed: face flat to concave
Species in genus: ± 75 species: c&s North America
Etymology: (Greek: bordered, from prominent marginal fruit wing)
Reference: [Schlessman 1984 Syst Bot Monogr 4:1–55]
Fr wing width expressed as width of 1 wing, not both together.

Native

L. caruifolium (Hook. & Arn.) J.M. Coult. & Rose

Plant 1.5–4.5 dm, glabrous to finely scabrous or hairy; taproot generally slender
Stem ± 0
Leaf: petiole 4–7 cm; blade 5–30 cm wide, triangular-ovate to obovate, 1–3-ternately or ternate-2-pinnately dissected, segments 2–60 mm, linear, pointed
Inflorescence: peduncle 1–4 dm, erect or spreading; bractlets sessile or not, generally = flowers, lanceolate to obovate, entire or toothed, scarious-margined, veined, green to purplish; rays 6–15, 1–12 cm, generally spreading-ascending; pedicels 2–8 mm
Flower: corolla yellow, rarely purplish
Fruit 6–13 mm, oblong to obovate, glabrous; wings thickish, < body in width
Ecology: Adobe of wet depressions, vernal pools, open grasslands
Elevation: 60–600 m.
Bioregional distribution: North Coast Ranges (Mendocino Co.), Cascade Range Foothills, c&s Sierra Nevada Foothills, Sacramento Valley, San Francisco Bay Area, South Coast Ranges, Channel Islands.Varieties poorly defined.