Butterfly bearing lomatium is one of ten species of Lomatium found in British Columbia. It is a tap-rooted perennial species with finely dissected blue-green leaves and the typical flat-topped flower cluster of this genus. Flowers are yellow. Like other Lomatium species, it shows preference for stony ground and shallow soils. It is a spring-flowering (April in BC), summer dormant species. Lifespan is reported as 5-7 years (various sources).

General:
Malodorous perennial herb from a long, stout taproot below a branching stem-base which is often covered by the dead leaves of the previous year; stems several, glabrous, 15-50 cm tall.

Leaves:
Mostly basal, short rough-hairy, very finely dissected, with numerous, very narrow, often subterete ultimate segments that lie in numerous planes to form a thick mat.

Flowers:
Inflorescence of compound umbels; flowers yellow; spokes of the umbel elongate unequally, 3.5-10 cm long; involucels well-developed.

Fruits:
Elliptic, 8-15 mm long, glabrous, lateral wings 1/3 - 1/2 as wide as the body.

Source:  The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.

Illustration Source:  The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Lomatium grayi (J.M. Coult. & Rose) J.M. Coutl. & Rose