species of loveroot are highly palatable to deer and elk, and it is very 

 probable that all species are eaten readily by game animals. The 

 plants remain green and palatable until the first heavy frosts, when 

 they lose their foliage and become dry and brittle, and are practically 

 worthless as forage. 



The roots of a number of these plants ar used for digestive ail- 

 ments and as a tonic, and are considered valuable in the treatment 

 of coughs and colds. An eastern species, Canada loveroot (L. cana- 

 dense], sometimes called American lovage, is employed extensively 

 for flavoring tobacco. Several Old World species are cooked as 

 potherbs. 



The loveroots grow from aromatic, deepset, stout, woody, and 

 sometimes branched taproots. The blackish, hairlike fibrous rem- 

 nant of old leaves forms a conspicuous tuft upon the older root 

 crowns. Loveroots can also be readily recognized by the very dis- 

 tinctive, sharp, strong, warm, and somewhat celerylike flavor of the 

 roots. This flavor cannot be described adequately in words but, 

 once experienced, is recognized as highly distinctive. The stems 

 are hollow, generally slender and smooth, and quite variable in size. 

 Several species are slender plants and grow from 8 inches to 2 feet 

 tall; others attain a height of 3 .feet, with some individuals growing 

 up to 4 feet or more. The stout stems of the larger plants are 

 often from one-half to three-fourths of an inch in diameter. The 

 leaves are usually large, and mostly basal, very few growing on the 

 main stalk. In all species the leaves are divided into many segments 

 which vary considerably in shape and size among the different spe- 

 cies. The segments in some species are long, fine, and linear, and 

 resemble those of carrot leaves, while others are broader, like the 

 divisions of fern leaves. Several species have leaves which suggest 

 those of celery. 



Loveroot flowers are white or pinkish and are borne in rather 

 large, many-rayed, umbrella-shaped clusters (umbels), 2 to 5 inches 

 broad, which are usually free from bracts or leaflike appendages. 

 The loveroots can be distinguished from other plants of the carrot 

 family by their fruits or "seeds". These "seeds" are not strongly flat- 

 tened but are shaped like an elongated egg, are tipped with conspic- 

 uous conical beaks (stylopodia), and have prominent equal ribs. 

 The "seeds" are rather small, being one-eighth to five-sixteenths of an 

 inch long. 



