Astonishing Apiaceae’s- Wildflowers and Plants of the Inland Northwest

What’s so astonishing about the Apiaceae family of plants? Apiaceae is the carrot family which includes more than 3000 species worldwide and over 300 genera. Economically important plants include carrot, celery, parsley and others. To the Native Americans in the Northwest Lomatium species comprised a large part of their diet, its common name is biscuitroot because of this use. The Apiaceae family as well as having edible species also includes poisonous plants such as poison hemlock- which Socrates drank. This family is my personal favorite because much of the genera are so useful, difficult to identify, and very diverse. I think that Lomatiums in particular could greatly benefit the rest of the world which is in arid regions as a food staple. There is a race to engineer new foods to feed the hungry as well as the world’s growing population- but the solutions could have been there all along under our feet. Photos by Thayne Music by the Broke Mountain Bluegrass Band, High On A Mountain Top, 07-24-2005, The Rail, Ft. Collins, CO