Al Schneider's Rocky Mountains Plant Descriptions

Rocky Mountain Hemlock Parsley
Conioselinum scopulorum
Carrot family (Apiaceae)

Rocky Mountain Hemlock Parsley is found along streamsides and in wet , but it is often unnoticed because it is buried in and grasses and because we often avoid these wet areas. When its large, bright white, flower eventually unfolds, it draws our attention to it and then it is found to be delicate and lovely. Presence of finely cut stem leaves and robust are characteristic. Is often confused with Fendler's Cowbane (Oxypolis fendleri) as the two have very similar growth characteristics and they grow in the same wet habitats. The shape of the stem leaves is the best way to tell the two plants apart. O. fendleri is by far the more common of the two plants.

"Conioselinum" means "hemlock parsley" and "scopulorum" means "rocky places."


©2009 Al Schneider

Description

, 1-2' tall, simply branched with 1-2 stem leaves. Flowerheads are flat-topped, umbrella-like clusters ( ) of white flowers. Leaves are , fine-cut fern-like with margins. Robust and few stem leaves. A buff-colored may surround stem at leaf junction. are .

Field Marks

White umbrella-like flowers, finely-cut fern-like leaves at base but only 1-2 stem leaves.

© Al Schneider

An umbel is a collection of flowers on short stalks which spread from a common point, somewhat like umbrella ribs. The arrangement can vary from being flat-topped to almost spherical.

A leaf is compound when multiple leaflets are on the same stem.

A perennial plant lives and blooms for many years.

A herb is a plant whose stems die back to the ground in the winter.

schizocarp -- a dry fruit formed from more than one carpel (a female reproductive organ) but breaking apart into individual carpels when ripe.

sheath -- a tubular or rolled part of an organ, e.g. the lower part of the leaf in most grasses.

fruit -- any seed-bearing structure in flowering plants. It is formed from the ovary after flowering.

sedge -- Grasslike plants. Stems have triangular cross-sections and sharp edges.

basal leaves -- a leaf that grows lowest on the stem of a plant.

lobe -- Being divided by clefts.

pinnate -- A compound leaf with two rows of leaflets.

leaflets -- Each little leaf-like thing in a compound leaf is a leaflet.

meadow -- Large grass and wildflower filled area with few, if any, trees.