Lomatium grayi, commonly known as Gray's biscuitroot, Gray's desert parsley, or pungent desert parsley, is a perennial herb of the family Apiaceae. It is native to Western Canada in British Columbia, and the Western United States, including from the Eastern Cascades and northeastern California to the Rocky Mountains.USDA: Lomatium grayi; info + native distribution map . Accessed 8 January 2013.Consortium of California Herbaria (Jepson): Lomatium grayi distribution. Accessed 8 January 2013.
It is a perennial herb found growing in dry rocky banks and slopes.Lomatium grayi in Jepson Flora Project (eds.) Jepson eFlora, info + detailed distribution map . Accessed 8 January 2013. It grows throughout the sagebrush steppe and also in pinyon–juniper woodland. It has a lifespan of 5–7 years.
Description
Lomatium grayi has glabrous stems that split at the ground, and a long, thick taproot. The dark-green leaves are numerously divided. It flowers from March to July with 1–20 compound umbels, each with hundreds of yellow flowers,Burke Museum—WTU Herbarium: Lomatium grayi — info + images. Accessed 8 January 2013. upon leafless stalks. The fruit is glabrous, elliptic, 8–15 mm long, with the lateral wings about half as wide as the body.Burke Museum—WTU Herbarium: Lomatium papilioniferum. Accessed 22 May 2021. The plant has a strong odor resembling parsley.
Varieties Lomatium grayi var. depauperatum (M.E. Jones) Mathias; endemic to northeastern Nevada and northwestern Utah.USDA Plants Profile: Lomatium grayi var. depauperatum — (Gray's biscuitroot) . Accessed 8 January 2013. Lomatium grayi var. grayiUSDA: Lomatium grayi var. depauperatum — (Gray's biscuitroot) . Accessed 8 January 2013.
Taxonomy
A 2018 study has proposed splitting L. grayi into four species, based on morphometric analysis: Lomatium klickitatense in Klickitat County, Washington and surrounding areas; Lomatium papilioniferum in the rest of the Pacific Northwest; Lomatium depauperatum (formerly L. grayi var. depauperatum) in western Utah and eastern Nevada; and Lomatium grayi s.s. in the western Rocky Mountains and adjoining basins.
Uses The plant was used as a food source by the Northern Paiute people in Oregon; new tender stems were eaten raw, and the roots were a winter starvation food.Native American Ethnobotany (University of Michigan - Dearborn) . Accessed 8 January 2013.
References
External links
USDA Plants Profile: Lomatium grayi (Gray's biscuitroot) Jepson eFlora treatment: Lomatium grayi Lomatium grayi — U.C. Photo gallery