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Indian Parsnip
One of the first flowers to bloom in the spring is the "longpipes"
(Cymopterus longipes), a member of the parsley family
(Umbelliferae). It hugs the ground at first, with a fernlike
rosette of leaves and a lacy yellow mound of a flower head. The stem
elongates as the flower goes to seed -- thus its name. It is commonly
called the Indian Parsnip because it was an important food plant for
Indians, who dug and ate its starchy roots in the spring.
Dixie Rose, in her book "Utah's Intermountain Wildflowers", says:
"This is an early flower you could walk over without noticing, unless you
are one of those who stroll with their eyes on the ground fearing to miss
a treasure. The leaves, twice pinnately divided, lie like a crumpled doily.
Flower heads, packed with minute five-petaled blossoms, are borne on short
stalked umbels." They may be found in the valleys from late March, and on
the drying foothills, near melting snowbanks, until June.
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