Carrotleaf, frequently called \vildcarrot, Indian-balsam, wildcelery, wild- 

 parsley, and wildparsnip, is a moderately tall, stout perennial herb of the 

 carrot family (Urubelliferae). This is the most common, abundant, and wide- 

 spread of about 12 species of Le-ptotaenia which grow in the West, and is more 

 or less typical of the group in appearance, habitat, and forage value. 



Carrotleaf grows from Alberta to western Wyoming, New Mexico, California, 

 and British Columbia. It is typically a plant of the foothills and open lower 

 mountain slopes, but ranges from the piiion-juniper, through the ponderosa 

 pine, to the aspen belt, occurring in the plains and valleys and extending into 

 the mountains up to elevations of about 9,000 feet. The species usually grows 

 on dry, gravelly, or rocky soils, but occasionally is found in more or less 

 shaded places and in rich, sandy bottom loams. It occurs most commonly and 

 makes its best growth, however, on warm, open exposures. Plants with which 

 it is usually associated include arrowleaf balsamroot, sagebrush, lupine, and 

 wheatgrass. Ordinarily its growth is scattered, but it is abundant and one 

 of the dominant spring plants on some localized areas. 



Carrotleaf, like most other species of its genus, is valuable for forage only 

 in the spring and early summer. Growth starts early, soon after the snow 

 disappears. The plants utilize the early spring soil moisture in making their 

 development. The flowers are produced in April and May and the plants dry 

 up soon after the seeds mature in June and July. When dry, the plants become 

 hard and brittle and are worthless for forage. The herbage, while green, is 

 highly palatable to all classes of livestock. Sheep, in particular, seek the 

 plants and often eat them down to the ground. Palatability ratings of this 

 plant are from fair to good or very good for sheep, and poor to good for 

 cattle. Reports are occasionally made, and have even appeared in print, that 

 this plant is suspected of being poisonous. No scientific evidence whatever 

 appears to exist to support this viewpoint ; but, on the contrary, the experience 

 of the Forest Service is that, under range conditions, it is harmless and a good 

 forage plant. It seems likely that the bad reputation of some of its relatives, 

 such as the poisonous waterhemlocks, have been saddled upon it. In preliminary 

 trials, which have been made to use carrotleaf in artificial range reseeding, itj 

 has become established from the original seeding, but thus far has failed to 

 reproduce. 1 



Carrotleaf has parsniplike roots which are characteristically crowned with 

 tufts of the coarse, fibrous remains of old stems. These strong, deep-set 

 aromatic taproots fortify the plants against loss from heavy grazing. The 

 leaves are mostly basal but occasionally arise from a short, branched stem 

 or from the flower stalks. The stalks, which bear the flower clusters, usually 

 extend above the general level of the leaves and are 1 to 3 feet tall and as 

 much as one-half of an inch in diameter. They are hollow and smooth, 

 and sometimes have a purplish tinge. The fruits or "seeds" are produced in 

 fairly large quantities and are grouped in tufts on short stalks (pedicels) 

 one-fourth to seven-eighths of an inch long at the ends of the main branches 

 (rays) of the umbel. The leptotaenias can easily be distinguished from other 

 western umbellifers by their strongly flattened smooth "seeds". These are 

 shaped like ordinary squash seeds, although somewhat smaller, being from 

 one-fourth to one-half of an inch long and about half as wide. The edges 

 are bordered by narrow but thick corky wingg. One face of the "seed" is 

 flat or slightly dished (concave) and has a distinct rib or scar down the 

 middle. The other face is slightly rounded and bears several threadlike ribs. 

 The name Leptotaenia is from the Greek (leptos, slender; tainia, a band) and 

 refers to these threadlike ribs on the "seeds." The specific name multifida 

 is descriptive of the much-divided (multifid) leaves which, with their numerous 

 fine segments, strongly suggest those of the cultivated carrot. 



The resinous balsamic roots of leptotaenias were extensively used, after 

 roasting, as food by the Indians. When dried and powdered or grated these 

 parts were also used as medicine, especially for sores. 3 



x Forsling C L and Dayton, W. A. ARTIFICIAL RESEEDING ON WESTERN MOUNTAIN 

 RANGE LANDS. U. S. Dept. Agr. Circ. 178, 48 pp., illus. 1931. 



2 Teit, J. A., and Steedman, E. V. ETHNOBOTANY OF THE THOMPSON INDIANS OF BRITISH 

 COLUMBIA. U. S. Bur. Amer. Ethnol. Ann. Kept. 45: 441-522. 1930. 



