I am not a sham

Pseudocymooterus montanus, May 26, 2021

Pseudocymooterus montanus, May 26, 2021

P. cymopterus, June 8, 2021

P. cymopterus, June 8, 2021

Common & scientific name
Mountain parsley, Pseudocymopterus montanus

Family
Parsley, Apiaceae

Location
Forest/riverside, 8,500’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact

This common parsley, seen at every elevation on the Pass, gives scientists fits because of its morphological variability and differences of opinion as to how it should be classified, both genus and species-wise.  But it’s one of our easier plants to identify: it has carrot-like leaves and it’s yellow, unlike any other parsleys on the Pass, which are all white (EXCEPT Alpine parsley, Oreoxis alpina, which is mat-forming and much tinier in all aspects than Mountain parsley).