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.

CYMOPTERUS

Perennial, taprooted, generally glabrous
Stem generally 0 or short
Leaves mostly basal, membranous to subleathery or fleshy; blade oblong to widely ovate or round, palmately or pinnately lobed to 1–2-pinnately or -ternate-pinnately dissected or compound, segments or leaflets linear to obovate, entire to variously lobed, generally spine-tipped
Inflorescence: umbels compound, generally terminal, scapose, open to spheric, dense, peduncled; bracts, bractlets conspicuous and scarious (or rarely 0); rays few–many (rays and pedicels sometimes ± 0)
Flower: calyx lobes prominent to 0; petals oblong to obovate, white, yellow, or purple, tips narrowed; projection atop ovary 0
Fruit oblong to ovate, subcylindric to compressed front-to-back; ribs subequal or unequal, marginal and some or all others thin- or corky-winged, or rarely some or all wingless; oil tubes per rib-interval 1–several; fruit axis 0 or divided to base
Seed: face flat to longitudinally concave or grooved
Species in genus: ± 50 species: w North America
Etymology: (Greek: wave wing)
Reference: [Mathias 1930 Ann Missouri Bot Gard 17:213–476]
Generic boundaries fluctuating. Some species outside CA are TOXIC to livestock.

Native

C. multinervatus (J.M. Coult. & Rose) Tidestr.

Plant 4–20 cm, with leafless stalk above taproot or not, glabrous
Stem (above leafless stalk) 0
Leaf: petiole 2–7 cm; blade 1–8.5 cm, oblong-ovate, 2-pinnately or ternate-pinnately dissected, glaucous, fleshy, segments 0.5–6 mm, ± indistinct
Inflorescence: peduncles = or > leaves, 2–14 cm; bracts greenish or purplish, scarious, many-veined, forming a shallow sheath or cup; bractlets like bracts; fertile rays 1–5, 0.5–2.5 cm; pedicels < 1 mm
Flower: corolla purplish
Fruit 8–17 mm wide, oblong-ovate to ovate; ribs subequal, wings 2–3 X body in width; oil tubes per rib-interval 3–9
Ecology: Uncommon. Sandy and rocky (limestone?) slopes
Elevation: 630–1500 m.
Bioregional distribution: Mojave Desert
Distribution outside California: to Utah, New Mexico
Flowering time: Mar–Apr