Distribution: Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington; southern British Columbia to California, east to Idaho and Nevada.
Habitat: Sagebrush desert and open slopes at low to moderate elevations.
Flowers: April-June
Origin: Native
Growth Duration: Perennial
Conservation Status: Not of concern
Pollination: Bees, flies, butterflies, beetles, wasps
Malodorous, glabrous perennial from a long, stout taproot and branching woody base, the several stems 1.5-5 dm. tall, the base often covered with the fibrous remains of the leaves of previous years.
Leaves borne near the base of the stem, ascending, ternate-pinnately dissected into very numerous, perhaps 1000, very narrow ultimate segments up to 6 mm. long, the segments disposed in several planes, making the leaves "thick".
Inflorescence a compound umbel, the rays unequal, 3.5-10 cm. long at maturity; involucre none; involucel of several well-developed, very narrow bractlets; pedicels 7-15 mm. long; calyx teeth obsolete; flowers bright yellow.
Fruit glabrous, elliptic, 8-15 mm. long, the lateral wings about half as wide as the body.
PNW Herbaria: Specimen records of Lomatium papilioniferum in the Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria database
WA Flora Checklist: Lomatium papilioniferum checklist entry
OregonFlora: Lomatium papilioniferum information
E-Flora BC: Lomatium papilioniferum atlas page
CalPhotos: Lomatium papilioniferum photos