Garry Oak Ecosystems Recovery Team (GOERT)

Small yellow flowers form compact heads on stalks of unequal lengths. The leaves are not fern-like but are composed of well-defined leaflets. There are no leaves on the flower stalk. Fruits oblong to elliptic, 7-15 mm long. Seeds flattened, with broad wings and distinct ribs. Photo by Dave Polster.

barestem lomatium, Indian celery, wild celery, Indian consumption plant

Apiaceae

Dry, open, sparsely treed sites, rocky slopes and grassy bluffs at low to middle elevations (Pojar and MacKinnon, 1994).

Coarse free-draining soils (Klinka et al., 1995).

Nitrogen-rich soils (Klinka et al., 1995).

Neutral to mildly alkaline.

Dry to moderately dry (Klinka et al., 1995).

Full sun to light shade (Pojar and MacKinnon, 1994).

Edaphic climax on dry water-shedding sites.

Scattered to common on bluffs and rock outcrops within Garry oak ecosystems.

Important nectar source for many butterflies.

Potentially useful ornamental for the dry rock garden.

Roots dug up in spring before the plants flower and eaten raw, boiled, cooked in pits or dried for later use. Often steam-cooked together with other bulbs of yellow glacier lily (Erythronium grandiflorum) (Parish et al, 1996). Seeds used as an incense, fumigant, and house deodorant, as a flavor for meat and fish, and burned as an insect repellent (Turner, 1998). Young sprouts a popular vegetable. Flowers, leaves, stems, and seeds used for teas, soups, stews, and tobacco (Turner, 1997).

April to June

Late June

Late to early July

Annual

20,513

Collect seed in June or early July when inflorescence is dry and the seeds are dark brown in color. Seed can be stripped from the inflorescence by hand, then cleaned with an air column separator (Skinner, 2004).

Clean seed should be stored in controlled conditions of 5o C and 40% relative humidity (Skinner, 2004).

Extended (6-8 week) cold, moist stratification is required (Skinner, 2004).

For more information and pictures, visit the E-Flora BC website at www.eflora.bc.ca.