Nineleaf Biscuitroot
Lomatium triternatum
Carrot family (Apiaceae)
The peanut-sized roots are edible raw or cooked. Many animals including ground squirrels and other rodents feed on them. Biscuitroot was a staple of many Native American tribes. "Triternatum," means three times , i.e., leaves are split three times and then again three times and then again--although this species does sometimes split into threes only twice.
tapering to a point with straight sides, as in an upside down V.
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 perennial plant lives and blooms for many years.
A herb is a plant whose stems die back to the ground in the winter.
Bracts are modified leaves associated with a flower.
Involucre is the name given to the circle or spiral collection of bracts around a flower-cluster.
basal -- at the base, situated or attached at the base.
ternate -- Leaves in groups of three. Whorls of three. Three leaflets.
petiole -- the stalk of a leaf.
linear -- Long and very narrow like a blade of grass.