Musineon divaricatum (Leafy Musineon) - photos and description
15 cm ruler for scale
General: Low plants which I've observed as caulescent or acaulescent. One of the earliest flowering plants in spring. Plants glabrous.
Flowers: In umbels of bright yellow flowers, umbel measured at 2.5 cm diameter, individual flowers measured at 1 mm diameter.
Leaves: Leaves are all basal, doubly pinnate with petioles that are concave in profile. We measured a leaf at 8 cm long (including petiole) and 3.5 cm wide.
Height: Height listed in Budd's Flora to 20 cm(!) we measured plants to 3.5 cm tall.
Habitat: Dry prairie and open hillsides.
Abundance: Common.
Origin: Native.
Similar species: Could be mistaken for Lomatium foeniculaceum, both are yellow-flowered, low growing plants in the Parsley family, share the same habitat, and bloom at the same time. However, Lomatium foeniculaceum has hairy stems and leaves, and its petioles are cylindrical in profile. While Musineon divaricatum has stems and leaves that are glabrous, and its petioles are concave in profile.
When and where photographed: Above photos taken April 23rd, prairie hillsides of the Qu'Appelle Valley, about 35 km north of our home in Regina, SK.