Fernleaf Biscuitroot

Regular price: $9.95
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Lomatium dissectum

Fernleaf biscuitroot, also known as fernleaf desert parsley, is a remarkable habitat plant that is visually stunning and relatively uncommon in home gardens and nurseries. We're not able to offer this species often - so grab it while you can! Like all of its cousins in the Lomatium family, it has a carrot-like taproot, delicate, lacey leaves and umbrella shaped flower clusters known as "umbels". Its abundant, lime-green foliage emerges in early spring and grows at a most impressive rate. Then, as early as March, the flowers come in droves - umbels of countless tiny yellow to purple flowers that tower above the leaves and beckon early spring pollinators from their winter resting places.

Plant type/canopy layer: deciduous, perennial, herbaceous plant
Size at maturity: 3-5’ tall and equally wide during growing season, dies back entirely in winter
Light requirements: full sun to partial shade
Moisture requirements: dry soil, needs excellent drainage
Growth rate/ease: fast growing, moderately difficult to grow only because it needs great drainage
Bloom time: March - June
Wildlife support: flowers attract and provide nectar to adult bees, butterflies and other insect pollinators; seeds are enjoyed by many species of birds; overall plant attracts and supports beneficial insects and is a host plant and larval food source for native moths and butterflies including several species of swallowtail butterflies
Native range: often found growing on open rocky talus slopes and in dry rocky meadows, from the lowlands to moderate elevation, on both sides of the Cascade crest from south western Canada, throughout Washington and Oregon, into southern California and east to the Rocky Mountains Colorado and Arizona. Portland Plant List – no.
Special features & uses: exceptional pollinator plant; drought resistant once established; edible - the starchy root can be eaten cooked or ground into flours, young leaves and shoots can be eaten raw or cooked, with a taste like parsley, seeds are especially aromatic and spicy like Caraway, BUT PLEASE USE CAUTION because it shares some visual characteristics with poison hemlock (also in the carrot family) which can be fatal if ingested; medicinally it has been used to treat a wide variety of ailments, from respiratory infections to skin complaints to digestion issues to arthritis; ceremonially used by many groups of indigenous people in the western US and SW Canada; landscape uses include pollinator and butterfly gardens and meadowscapes

Gardening with Fernleaf Biscuitroot: This is a unique and rewarding plant, for humans and wildlife, in habitat gardens with exceptional drainage. It is very low-maintenance and drought tolerant once established, but the trick is finding the right location for it. Select areas that are sunny and mostly dry - though it can tolerate a fair amount of moisture as long as the soil drains quickly. It is ideal in rocky pollinator gardens or open slopes - where it can take up space in spring without leaving a gaping hole when it dies back each winter.