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Cymopterus multinervatus - purplenerve springparsley

Scientific Family
Apiaceae
Other common names
Arizona springparsley
wild parsnip
Plant type
Forbs and Subshrubs
Origin
Native
Lifecycle
Perennial
Height
1-1/2 to 6 inches
Riparian
No

Almost stemless plant with mostly basal leaves arising from short stems above a slender taproot. Clusters of tiny purple (usually), white or yellow flowers on leafless stems.

Small stemless perennial herb with long taproot; leaves ovate to oblong; blades pinnate to bipinnate, fleshy, pale; leaflets entire to pinnately lobed; flowers many-nerved lobes and many-nerved purple bractlets, usually with a whitish margin.

Habitat

Found on gravelly slopes, often on rocky outcrops and along ridges.

Plant Community
Grasslands
Interior Chaparral
Montane Conifer Forest
Pinyon Juniper Woodlands
Low elevation
3000
High elevation
7000

Flower Characteristics

Tiny flowers form rounded clusters. Flowers are usually purple but can be whitish or yellowish.

Flower color
Purple, white or yellow
Flower shape
Bell-shaped
Tubular
No
First bloom month
March
Last bloom month
May
Flower clusters
Rounded

Leaf and Stem Characteristics

Mostly basal; 1/2 to 3-1/2 inches long, oblong-ovate, highly dissected.

Leaf type
Compound
Leaf color
Grayish-green
Leaf shape
Pinnatifid
Leaf margin
Lobed
Leaf attachment
Basal
Leaves clasp
No
Leaf hairs
None
Spines
No

Fruit and Seed Characteristics

Ovoid to oblong, often purplish, about 1/2 inch in diameter with wings.

Fruit type
Other
Fruit color
Whitish

2 dry, 1-seeded halves that separate from each other but generally remain attached for some time to a central axis.