Common lomatium

Description

Lomatium utriculatum is a species of flowering plant in the carrot family known by the common name common lomatium or spring gold. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to California, where it grows in many types of habitat including chaparral, and in the Sierra Nevada. Lomatium utriculatum is a hairless to lightly hairy perennial herb growing up to half a meter-1.5 feet tall from a slender taproot. The leaves are basal and also grow from the middle and upper sections of the stem. Each is generally divided and subdivided into many small linear lobes. Leaves higher on the stem have prominent sheaths. The inflorescence is a webbed umbel of yellow flowers with rays up to 12 centimeters long. This plant was used as a food and medicinal remedy by many Native American groups.