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Idaho Mountain Wildflowers

The Parsley or Carrot Family: Apiaceae (page 1 of 3)

The scientific names, Umbelliferae and Apiaceae are both acceptable, although the latter is preferred today by most botanists. There are about 440 genera and 3,590 species in the family. Most are non-woody. Typically their stems are thick and often hollow.Characteristically leaves wrap, or sheath about the main stem, as in celery or fennel plants. Small flowers are arranged in flat-topped clusters; the resulting inflorescence resembles the ribs of an inside-out umbrella, the origin of the older family name, Umbelliferae. In some species the flowers heads are compound; i.e., each stemlet divides further. The flowers themselves are almost always radially symmetrical with five small sepals and five petals, although it may take a magnifying glass to make out these details. Some of the genera contain many similar species, so identification can be difficult, based on the appearance of the fruit—a technical feature not of much help to amateur botanists. Some species are ornamentals, but the family is valued mostly for its edible plants: carrots, celery, fennel, chervil, parsley, parsnip, etc., as well as herbs, including coriander, cumin, caraway, dill, and angelica. Despite the many members that have food value, it is unwise to eat any wild umbellifers unless their identification is certain—several are extremely poisonous. The family name “Apiaceae” was derived from apium, the Latin word for parsley.

Lyall’s angelica, Angelica arguta Nutt. (left and right), is a mountain plant that grows to treeline. It blooms from midsummer on along mountain streams and in nearby wetlands. The name angelica was derived from supposed medicinal properties disclosed by an angel. Our species name, arguta, means “sharp-toothed” for the shape of the compound pinnate leaves. The leaf-bearing stems angle outward about 20 degrees further at the nodes, where the leaves come off, a helpful feature in identifying angelicas. Use our angelicas and other white-flowered umbellifers at your peril, for they can be hard to distinguish from the poisonous water-hemlock, shown below. David Lyall (1817-1895), whose name is associated with this plant (formerly it was known as Angelica lyallii) was an assistant surgeon and botanist on Captain James Ross’s voyage of exploration (1839-1844) to the northern Pacific and arctic regions. Lewis and Clark also collected an angelica (probably this species) along the Lolo Trail in northern Idaho on their outbound journey in 1805 and again on their return journey in 1806.

The Northern (or common) yampah, Perideridia montana (Blank.) Dorn (left) blooms in mid-summer, or later, on the banks of mountain streams. It is also most likely the edible plant—“a speceis [sic] of fennel”—that Meriwether Lewis (1774-1809) saw Indian women harvesting on August 26th near the Lemhi Pass on today’s Idaho-Montana border (where, interestingly, yampah is no longer found). Evidently he did not collect a specimen, or if he did, it did not survive the journey, for yampah is not represented in the Lewis and Clark Herbarium in Philadelphia.
Slender leaved lovage, Ligusticum tenuifolium S. Watson, (right) also known as “licorice root,” grow to subalpine elevations in our mountains, although they are not particularly common. Umbels of white flower heads are born atop tall stems. Pinnate (feather-like) compound leaves with narrow, divided leaflets explain the species name, tenuifolium (“slender leaf”). As with several other umbellifers, the roots and seeds have a distinctive odor as reflected in the name “licorice-root.” The word “lovage” is more properly applied to the edible European plant Levisticum officinale. This plant and related American species, such as the fern-leaf lovage, Ligusticum filicinum, were used by Native Americans in much the same way.

Swamp White-heads, or Rangers’ Buttons, Woolyheaded parsnip, Sphenosciadium capitellatum A. Gray (left), are tall plants—three or four feet high—found along streams and in moist meadows from foothills to mountain valleys, blooming in mid- to late summer. This is the only species in the genus Sphenosciadium. It is easily identified by its woolly flowerheads, each made up of many tiny flowers. The attractive little heads (right) are usually white, but sometimes have a pinkish tinge. The leaves are compound, made up of three or more parts. The scientific name is derived from the Greek words sphena meaning “wedge,” and skiada for “parasol,” referring respectively to its wedge shaped fruits and the plant’s umbels. The species’ name, capitellatum, means “little heads.” Alternate common names include “rangers’ buttons,” and “woolly-headed parsnip.”

Western water-hemlock, Cicuta douglasii (DC.) J. M. Coult. & Rose is not a food plant. The related European hemlock (Conium maculatum L., an imported species that now grows throughout the United States) was the plant that poisoned Socrates. Ours is also extremely poisonous. It is a handsome plant with dark green, shiny, three-parted, serrated leaves. Clusters of muddy-white flowers resemble exploding fireworks. The plant grows along streams, and in moist meadows as high as treeline. The stems are hollow and are perfect for making whistles—the poison reportedly has killed children who did so. It has also been the murder plant of choice in more than one detective novel. The Latin word Cicuta originally referred to a now unidentifiable poisonous member of the parsley family—possibly the European hemlock mentioned above. The species name commemorates David Douglas (1798-1834), he of the fir tree, who introduced more North American plants into English gardens than any other plant hunter.

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	*Lyall’s angelica, Angelica arguta* Nutt.** (left and right), is a mountain plant that grows to treeline. It blooms from midsummer on along mountain streams and in nearby wetlands. The name angelica was derived from supposed medicinal properties disclosed by an angel. Our species name, arguta, means “sharp-toothed” for the shape of the compound pinnate leaves. The leaf-bearing stems angle outward about 20 degrees further at the nodes, where the leaves come off, a helpful feature in identifying angelicas. Use our angelicas and other white-flowered umbellifers at your peril, for they can be hard to distinguish from the poisonous water-hemlock, shown below. David Lyall (1817-1895), whose name is associated with this plant (formerly it was known as Angelica lyallii) was an assistant surgeon and botanist on Captain James Ross’s voyage of exploration (1839-1844) to the northern Pacific and arctic regions. Lewis and Clark also collected an angelica (probably this species) along the Lolo Trail in northern Idaho on their outbound journey in 1805 and again on their return journey in 1806.
	The *Northern (or common) yampah, Perideridia montana* (Blank.) Dorn (left) blooms in mid-summer, or later, on the banks of mountain streams. It is also most likely the edible plant—“a speceis [sic] of fennel”—that Meriwether Lewis (1774-1809) saw Indian women harvesting on August 26th near the Lemhi Pass on today’s Idaho-Montana border (where, interestingly, yampah is no longer found). Evidently he did not collect a specimen, or if he did, it did not survive the journey, for yampah is not represented in the Lewis and Clark Herbarium in Philadelphia. Slender leaved lovage, Ligusticum tenuifolium S. Watson*, (right) also known as “licorice root,” grow to subalpine elevations in our mountains, although they are not particularly common. Umbels of white flower heads are born atop tall stems. Pinnate (feather-like) compound leaves with narrow, divided leaflets explain the species name, tenuifolium* (“slender leaf”). As with several other umbellifers, the roots and seeds have a distinctive odor as reflected in the name “licorice-root.” The word “lovage” is more properly applied to the edible European plant Levisticum officinale. This plant and related American species, such as the fern-leaf lovage, Ligusticum filicinum, were used by Native Americans in much the same way.
	Swamp White-heads, or Rangers’ Buttons, Woolyheaded parsnip, Sphenosciadium capitellatum A. Gray (left), are tall plants—three or four feet high—found along streams and in moist meadows from foothills to mountain valleys, blooming in mid- to late summer. This is the only species in the genus Sphenosciadium. It is easily identified by its woolly flowerheads, each made up of many tiny flowers. The attractive little heads (right) are usually white, but sometimes have a pinkish tinge. The leaves are compound, made up of three or more parts. The scientific name is derived from the Greek words sphena meaning “wedge,” and skiada for “parasol,” referring respectively to its wedge shaped fruits and the plant’s umbels. The species’ name, capitellatum, means “little heads.” Alternate common names include “rangers’ buttons,” and “woolly-headed parsnip.”
	Western water-hemlock, Cicuta douglasii (DC.) J. M. Coult. & Rose is not a food plant. The related European hemlock (Conium maculatum L., an imported species that now grows throughout the United States) was the plant that poisoned Socrates. Ours is also extremely poisonous. It is a handsome plant with dark green, shiny, three-parted, serrated leaves. Clusters of muddy-white flowers resemble exploding fireworks. The plant grows along streams, and in moist meadows as high as treeline. The stems are hollow and are perfect for making whistles—the poison reportedly has killed children who did so. It has also been the murder plant of choice in more than one detective novel. The Latin word Cicuta originally referred to a now unidentifiable poisonous member of the parsley family—possibly the European hemlock mentioned above. The species name commemorates David Douglas (1798-1834), he of the fir tree, who introduced more North American plants into English gardens than any other plant hunter.