Photo © Al Schneider, www.swcoloradowildflowers.com

Photo © Al Schneider, www.swcoloradowildflowers.com

Photo © Al Schneider, www.swcoloradowildflowers.com

Fendler's Spring-parsley (Fendler's Cymopterus)

Cymopterus acaulis var. fendleri

Synonym: Cymopterus fendleri

Family: Apiaceae (A Utah Flora - Umbelliferae) - Carrot or Parsley Family

Perennial herbs from taproots; some strongly aromatic; 2”to 10.8” (5 to 27 cm) tall

Leaves: basal (or basal and 1 to few cauline mostly on the lower half of the stems); compound

Flowers: 5 petals; 5 sepals or lacking; small flowers in clusters (compound umbel); 5 stamens; 1 pistil; 2 styles; petals white, yellow, or purple, 6 to 9 rays, rays 0.04” to 0.52” (1 to 13 mm) long

Pollinators: insects; self-fertile

Fruits: schizocarp; flat and wide with lateral wings – splits into 2 halves, each 1 seeded

Blooms in Arches National Park: March, April, May

Habitat in Arches National Park: desert shrub and pinyon-juniper communities; often grows on sandy soil

Location seen: Windows, Fiery Furnace, Broken Arch trail, outside Arches National Park in Negro Bill Canyon

Other: The genus name, “Cymopterus”, is from the Greek “cyma” which means “wave” and "pteron” which means “wing”, referring to its fruit. The species name, “acaulis”, means “without a stem”; the variety name, “fendleri”, honors Augustus Wilhelm Fendler (1813-1883), a Prussian botanist who collected plant specimens in North America, Central America, South America, Prussia and Trinidad. Many of his American Southwest specimens were collected for botanist Asa Gray.

The family has economic importance because it contains numerous food plants, condiments, ornamentals. There are also poisonous species. Tuberous roots. The family identification depends on anatomical details of fruits and seeds.