Indian springparsley
Cymopterus aboriginum M.E.Jones
Indian springparsley is a perennial member of the carrot family from the desert mountains of California and Nevada. It has a compact, stemless appearance, with old leaf-stalk bases remaining around its rootstock. The White-Inyo flora describes its fruits as winged on every side, an especially distinctive feature after the white flowers have passed. UC Press: Natural History of the White-Inyo Range
Botanical name
Cymopterus aboriginum M.E.Jones is accepted by Kew; Aulospermum aboriginum is a synonym based on the same original name. Kew POWO: Cymopterus aboriginum
Recognizing the plant
The Nevada flora describes plants reaching thirty-five centimetres, with grey-green leaves up to ten centimetres long. Repeated branching divides each leaf into small, narrow, pointed segments covered with short hairs. Flower stalks rise as high as the foliage or above it. They carry fairly compact compound umbels, with slender bractlets beneath the small flower groups. The oval to oblong fruits measure about six to eleven millimetres long and bear narrow wings. Umbelliferae of Nevada: Cymopterus aboriginum
Bloom window
Nevada and adjacent eastern California
The Nevada regional flora records flowering in April and May. Umbelliferae of Nevada: Cymopterus aboriginum
Native range
Kew places its native range in southeastern California and southern Nevada. In the White-Inyo region it grows on rocky ground, especially dolomite, in desert scrub and pinyon-juniper woodland at roughly 1,677–2,744 metres. Kew POWO: Cymopterus aboriginumUC Press: Natural History of the White-Inyo Range
Botanical sources
- Kew POWO: Cymopterus aboriginum
- UC Press: Natural History of the White-Inyo Range
- Umbelliferae of Nevada: Cymopterus aboriginum
Reviewed 2026-10-11. Seasonal development varies with location and growing conditions.