Mojave Desertparsley
Lomatium mohavense

Color: Yellow or purple
Common name: Mojave desertparsley
Latin name: Lomatium mohavense
Family: APIACEAE
Height: 4-15.5 inches
Description: Lomatium mohavense is a hairy gray-green herb growing from an elongated taproot. There is generally no stem, the erect or spreading leaves and inflorescence emerging from ground level. The inflorescence is an umbel of tiny yellow to brownish to dark purple flowers without hairs.
Leaf: The leaves may approach 20 cm long, their blades intricately divided and subdivided into crowded clusters of tiny segments.
Range: South Coast Ranges, Western Transverse Ranges, Desert
Habitat: Desert flats, slopes, summits, scrub, or woodland
Elevation: 1000–2000 m.
Flowering time: Apr–May
Notes: Lomatium mohavense, a dicot, is a perennial herb that is native to California and is also found outside of California, but is confined to western North America. Distribution outside California: Baja California. This plant was photographed Feb. 26, 2005 near Short Canyon, Kern County, California.
We have an online wildflower field guide that is designed to help you identify desert wildflowers by color, scientific name, region and common name. The pictures are sized to work on the iPod, iPhone, iPad and similar devices. With your iPod or phone you will easily be able to identify wildflowers while in the desert. Links for downloads are on the bottom of the Wildflower Field Guide page.
Photo tips: Most digital point-and-shoot cameras have a macro function - usually symbolized by the icon of a little flower. When you turn on that function, you allow your camera to get closer to the subject, looking into a flower for example. Or getting up close and personal with a bug. More on desert photography.
Mojave Desert Wildflowers - This book is the standard by which all other wildflower books are measured. The author, Jon Mark Stewart, has combined super photography with concise information. This book has an entire color page for each wildflower covered, with a discussion of the wildflower. 210 pages with 200 color photos. More...
What's Blooming Now - Check the Wildflower Reports
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