Latin Name: Cymopterus glomeratus
Common Name(s): Plains spring-parsley
Family: Apiaceae
Size: small – 1 foot or less
Life Cycle: Perennial
Distribution: Canada to Mexico, from the very southeast tip of Oregon across to Oklahoma. Prevalent in much of the great plains and American southwest. Found in varied habitat, often in sandy soil in valleys and meadows.
Light Requirements: Depending on environment. In hotter environment it needs light shade, can probably take full sun in colder areas.
USDA Zone: 3 to (my estimate) 8
Drought Tolerance: High. It is found in high desert and can tolerate drought due to a thickened taproot.
Fire Risk: Low. The plant is tiny and often summer-dormant.
Cultivation Notes
Plains spring-parsley is not a very common plant in cultivation. It prefers very well-drained soil, growing well in sandy soils and desert environments, but provided it is not sitting in water the plant can handle clay or loam. It grows well even at fairly high elevations, up to 2000 meters. The flowers can be various colors, usually white, yellow, or purplish, and are rather attractive. A good candidate for rock gardens, xeriscapes, and high desert gardens.
Ecology
The flowers bloom from March to May and, like other plants in the Apiaceae, are very attractive to a variety of insects.
Uses
The leaves were used historically, both raw and cooked, and are aromatic.
Propagation
The seeds look somewhat similar to those of Lomatium, and I don’t think it is a bad assumption that they can be treated like them. The only records I can find mention that a period of cold stratification seemed to do the trick. I would scatter the seeds on top of a well-drained sandy soil in a pot, cover the seeds with a few millimeters of sandy soil, and leave outdoors in a place protected from birds for the winter.