California Lomatium

Lomatium californicum occurs in the far western USA in diverse parts of California as well as in southern Oregon at elevations of 150 to 1800 meters. Characteristic habitats where this herb is found include woodland and brush dominated slopes.

This plant, with common name California lomatium, reaches a height of 30 to 120 centimeters and is anchored with a smooth stout taproot. The stem base is fibrous and leaves are attached with petioles of five to 25 centimeters in length; triangular-ovate leaf blades are ten to thirty centimters wide. The two to five cm leaflets are arranged as 1–2-ternate-pinnate.

Lomatium californicum (Nutt.) Math. & Const. Bull. Torrey
Club 69: 246. 1942.
Leptotaenia ? califomica Nutt.; T. & G. Fl. N. Am. 1: 630. 1840. Not Peucedanum californicum
Nutt. 1840, nor Coult. & Rose. 1888. Ferula califomica A. Gray, Proc. Am. Acad. 7: 348. 1868. Leptotaenia califomica var. platycarpa Jepson, Erythea 1: 8. 1893. Leptotaenia califomica var. dilatata Jepson, Erythea 1: 63. 1893.
Plants caulescent, 3-12 dm. high, from stout thickened roots, the stem arising from a cluster of fibrous sheaths, glabrous and glaucous; leaves ovate to deltoid in general outline, excluding the petioles 10-30 cm. long, ternate or biternate, or ternate-pinnate, the ultimate divisions cuneate to obovate, thickish, usually 3-cleft and coarsely toothed or lobed, 20-50 mm. long, the teeth or lobes usually 'obtuse; petioles 5-25 cm. long, sheathing at the base; cauline leaves few, like the basal, short-petiolate with dilated sheaths; peduncles exceeding the leaves, 1.5-3 dm. high; involucre wanting, or of 1 or 2 narrow bracts; involucel of a few, linear, scarious bractlets, about equaling the flowers, or wanting; rays numerous, spreading, 3-8 cm. long, usually subequal, often dilated at the base to form a prominent disc; pedicels 4-12 mm. long, often dilated at the base into a disc, the umbellets many-flowered; flowers yellow; fruit oblong-oval, 10-15 mm. long, 5-8 mm. broad, glabrous, the wings thin to thick and corky, narrower than the body; oil-tubes 3 or 4 in the intervals, 6-10 on the commissure, or obscure.
Type locality: "Santa Barbara, Upper California," Nultall.
Distribution: Coast Ranges, southern Oregon to southern California (Elmer 4347, Pur pus 5092).

Lomatium californicum is a species of plant related to the carrot and the parsnip which is known by the common names California rock parsnip, celery weed, and California lomatium.

This plant is native to California and Oregon. It is found on mountains and hills, at elevations of 150–1,800 metres (490–5,910 ft).