was one of the leading foods of the Northwestern Indians. 1 The 

 fresh roots have a parsnip-like flavor, but, on drying, become brittle 

 and white, with a somewhat celery -like taste. The dry root is readily 

 ground into flour. 



The root systems of biscuitroots are of two main types: (1) deep- 

 set, elongated, often spindle-shaped, somewhat woody taproots or 

 (2) fleshy, tuberlike, or bulblike roots of greatly varying shape. 

 Some species have rounded and others elongated roots ; in still others 

 the roots are pinched or constricted to form a beadlike chain or 

 string of "tubers." Most of the species have very short stems or are 

 stemless except for the flower stalks which, in the majority of cases, 

 are low (4 to 12 inches high), slender, unbranched, and leafless or 

 nearly so; there are, however, many exceptions. The leaves and 

 stems of several species make rank growth, sometimes attaining a 

 height of 30 inches. C. nudicaulis and G.. platyphylla, are examples 

 of species which have rather stout flower stalks with swollen or club- 

 shaped tops where the flower clusters (umbels) begin. Individual 

 plants of several species can be found which have somewhat 

 branched leafy stems or flower stalks. As above intimated the leaves 

 of most species are chiefly or wholly basal ; i. e., they arise from the 

 root crown or from the short, compressed stem. The stalks of these 

 basal leaves are flattened or broadly dilated at the base. The leaves 

 are always compound (divided into segments) with few to many 

 divisions and, in the different species, are extremely variable in size 

 and shape. In many species the leaves are cut up into very fine 

 divisions and in general resemble parsley leaves ; others with broader 

 segments have fernlike leaves; some, such as nineleaf biscuitroot {C. 

 triternata), have their leaves divided into long, narrow, grasslike 

 lobes, and others, such as C. nudicaulis and C. platypKylla,, have 

 leaves with broad, egg-shaped, heart-shaped, or wedge-shaped divi- 

 sions, sometimes 1% to 2 inches wide. 



The flowers are usually yellow, in some species white, and occasion- 

 ally purple. They are borne in umbrella-shaped clusters (umbels) 

 of various sizes. In many species these umbels are characteristically 

 irregular or lop-sided. In practically all species the hub or axis of 

 the main umbel is without a circle of leaf like bracts (involucre), but 

 it is characteristic of this genus that the secondary, small, flower 

 clusters within the main umbel (umbellets) are usually encircled by 

 a whorl of leafy bractlets (involucels). It is also characteristic that 

 the sepals, or calyx teeth, are wanting or (very rarely) just visible. 

 The fruits, or seeds, are strongly flattened, free from hairs and 

 bristles and have thin, usually conspicuous side wings, equal thread- 

 like ribs on the back, flattened faces, and lack prominent appendages 

 (stylopodia) at the summit. The seeds grow in pairs, attached face 

 to face by their side wings until maturity, and vary considerably in 

 size and shape in the different species, from almost round to oblong 

 in outline, and ranging from about one-eighth of an inch to 1 inch 

 in length. 



1 Blankinship, .T. W. NATIVE ECONOMIC PLANTS op MONTANA. Mont. Agr. Expt. Sta. 

 Bull. 56, 36 pp. 1905. 



