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Cymopterus acaulis

Common name:	Plains Springparsley	Family:	Umbelliferae
Author:	(Pursh.)Raf.	Botanical references:	60
Synonyms:	Cymopterus glomeratus (DC.)
Known Hazards:	Although no reports of toxicity have been seen, we have some reservations on this root, particularly as it gets old, because of its recorded use as an insecticide.
Range:	Western N. America - north to Alberta.
Habitat:	Dry flats and hillsides, on plains and in valleys[60].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	4	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	0

Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Plains Spring-parsley [B], Plains Springparsley [P],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	acaulis = stalkless
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Apiales. Renamed to Apiaceae -- Carrot family

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 0.1m. . The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects. The plant is self-fertile. We rate it 4/5 for edibility and 0/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires dry or moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Cultivated Beds.

Edible Uses

Leaves Root.

Root - raw or cooked[46, 61]. A pleasant taste[161]. The young roots in spring are the best, but roots can also be eaten at other times of the year[85]. Only the young roots should be used[94]. (Does this mean that the older roots can be harmful? See the notes above on toxicity)
Leaves and young shoots - raw or cooked[46, 61, 85, 94, 161].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

None known

Other Uses

Insecticide.

The water from boiling up old roots is used as an insecticide[94].

Cultivation details

We have almost no information on the needs of this species and do not know if it is hardy in Britain, though judging by its native range it should outdoors in many parts of the country. We suggest growing it in a sunny position in a well-drained light or medium soil[K].

Propagation

Seed - we have no information on this species but suggest sowing the seed in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe if this is possible. Sow stored seed as early in the year as possible in a greenhouse. As soon as they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
Division in spring or autumn might be possible.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[60] Hitchcock. C. L. Vascular Plants of the Pacific Northwest. University of Washington Press 1955
A standard flora for Western N. America with lots of information on habitat etc. Five large volumes, it is not for the casual reader.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[85] Harrington. H. D. Edible Native Plants of the Rocky Mountains. University of New Mexico Press 1967 ISBN 0-8623-0343-9
A superb book. Very readable, it gives the results of the authors experiments with native edible plants.

[94] Sweet. M. Common Edible and Useful Plants of the West. Naturegraph Co. 1962 ISBN 0-911010-54-8
Useful wild plants in Western N. America. A pocket guide.

[161] Yanovsky. E. Food Plants of the N. American Indians. Publication no. 237. U.S. Depf of Agriculture.
A comprehensive but very terse guide. Not for the casual reader.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963

This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Cymopterus+acaulis
This page (US) http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Cymopterus+acaulis

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