W106 

 LOVEROOTS 



Ligus'ticum spp. 



The loveroots, known commonly as wildcelery, lovage, osha, wild- 

 parsley, and ligusticum, are smooth perennial herbs of the carrot, or 

 parsnip, family (Umbelliferae). They are known as chuchupate in 

 the Southwest, and two Rocky Mountain species are called cough- 

 roots because of their medicinal uses. Liffusti&em occurs chiefly in 

 the Northern Hemisphere. With perhaps two or three exceptions, all 

 the North American species are confined to the western part of the 

 continent and about 18 species occur on the mountain ranges of the 

 West. 



Loveroots grow at elevations ranging from slightly above sea level 

 in the humid forests of the Pacific Northwest to about 12,000 feet in 

 Colorado and the Southwest. They are typically plants of the 

 higher elevations and are found throughout the mountains of all 

 the Western States. They grow in scattered stands in the rich 

 moist soils of shady woodlands, marshes, meadows, along stream 

 banks, and in alpine or subalpine parks. Although plants of this 

 genus often appear in drier situations on the sandy, gravelly, or 

 rocky soils of moderately dry meadows and hillsides, they prefer 

 the more moist and fertile sites. The loveroots are commonly asso- 

 ciated with bluegrasses, bromegrasses, columbine, cow-parsnip, false- 

 hellebore, sedges, larkspurs, willows, and other species inhabiting the 

 better soils or glades. 



Sampson, 1 in his studies in the Blue Mountains of Oregon, found 

 that the water requirements of Oregon loveroot (L. oregcmum), 

 which is described as typical of the majority of the more palatable 

 species, were somewhat higher than most of its associates. The 

 plant wilts usually beyond recovery in a soil whose water content 

 is reduced to a point between 8 and 9.5 percent. That investigator 

 also disclosed that the plants had weak seeding habits, the seed being 

 low in viability. In 1907 and the two following seasons he obtained 

 germinations of 2.6 and 11.5 percent, respectively. Oregon loveroot, 

 and especially in its fruiting parts, is very sensitive to frost, which 

 may partially explain the low viability of the seed, as frosts in the 

 early fall are rather frequent in the high mountains where the plant 

 occurs. Reproduction occurs sparingly on the range, even on allot- 

 ments in process of reseeding under deferred grazing. Since the 

 loveroots have taproot systems and do not regenerate vegetatively 

 from running rootstocks, they depend entirely upon seed lor repro- 

 duction and are probably not capable of forming pure or nearly pure 

 stands even under the most favorable conditions. However, they 

 are sufficiently abundant in some small scattered areas to form a 

 very important part of the palatable vegetation. 



Most of the loveroots are highly palatable to all classes of live- 

 stock. Sheep, especially, are fond of the herbage; cattle will eat a 

 high percentage, and horses also often show a liking for it. Several 



1 Sampson, A. W. IMPORTANT RANGE PLANTS : THBIK LIFE HISTORY AND FORAGE VALUE 

 U. S. Dept. Agr. Bull. 545, 63 pp., illus. 1917. 



