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Pseudocymopterus montanus.
Synonym:
Cymopterus lemmonii. (Mountain Parsley) Foothills, montane, subalpine. Woodlands,
meadows. Spring, summer. The characteristic umbels (wide, rounded-to-flattened flower clusters) and finely cut, odoriferous leaves mark this as a member of the Parsley Family. Mountain Parsley with its golden-yellow flower is widely distributed and very common in the Four Corners mountains, sometimes appearing in small scattered patches and often in very large numbers. Its blooming season is very long, ranging from early spring (and tall plants) in the low foothills to late summer (and dwarf plants) in alpine meadows. Intermountain Flora indicates, that this species has " great morphological variability and uncertain generic position.... Efforts to divide it into more narrowly limited species or biologically significant varieties have been unsuccessful". You can study the variability of Pseudocymopterus montanus as you encounter it; for an extreme example, compare the montane plant at left with the alpine one in the last photo on this page. The Greek "Cym" and "pterum" come together as "Cymopterus", "waved" "wing", referring to the fruit. "Pseudocymopterus" then is a false cymopterus, a close look-alike, and, in fact, so close that some botanists still classify it as a Cymopteris. It has endured numerous name changes due, as Intermountain Flora puts it, to its "great morphological variability". The plant was first collected for science by Augustus Fendler outside Santa Fe in 1846 or 1847 and was named Thaspium montanum by Gray in 1849; it was renamed Pseudocymopterus montanus by John Coulter in 1888. |
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Pseudocymopterus montanus.
Synonym:
Cymopterus lemmonii. (Mountain Parsley) Foothills, montane, subalpine. Woodlands,
meadows. Spring, summer. |
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Pseudocymopterus montanus. Synonym: Cymopterus lemmonii. (Mountain Parsley) Foothills, montane, subalpine. Woodlands,
meadows. Spring, summer. Seeds have well-developed wings to small ribs. |
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Pseudocymopterus montanus. Synonym: Cymopterus lemmonii. (Mountain Parsley) Foothills, montane, subalpine. Woodlands,
meadows. Spring, summer. The linear leaves of this plant found at 11,300 feet are distinctive but the rest of the plant is clearly the same as the Pseudocymopterus montanus shown above. |
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Pseudocymopterus montanus. Synonym: Cymopterus lemmonii. (Mountain Parsley) Foothills, montane, subalpine. Woodlands,
meadows. Spring, summer. |
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Pseudocymopterus montanus.
Synonym:
Cymopterus lemmonii. (Mountain Parsley) Foothills, montane, subalpine. Woodlands,
meadows. Spring, summer. |
