amazing Apiaceae (the umbellifers)

Really remarkable plants, Mark! I didn't know such treasures existed. Now you have given me a problem - shall I ignore them or look out for seed?! And I have several years to retirement. . . .

I was very pleased to see seedlings of Cymopterus --I think its planosus, but would have to check--they were sown in spring last year, early enough for some cold strat, but maybe not enough-- I got one seedling, which I think didn't survive, so I thought that seed was done for, and didn't even put the pot with others that were overwintering outside.. well, there are at least several coming up now :)

I have encountered Cymopterus globosus in it's native haunts. The flowers have rather thick petals very densly packed. The immature fruiting bodies feel like dense, bumpy rubber balls.

John, what do you call such a plant? Showy? Beautiful? Spectacular? Anyway it is a remarkable plant :)

My interest in these plants is being rapidly reignited. Thanks for the images and websites. I have also grown Shoshonea in the past, but didn't look after it well enough. There are some wonderful Mediterranean species adapted to similar but not so winter cold conditions - Athamanta turbith is probably my favourite. Another, Thapsia maxima, has large broad pleated leaves and a football size head of yellow flowers only to about a metre high. It is an extraordinary and fascinating family once you get into it!

Weiser wrote:

I have encountered Cymopterus globosus in it's native haunts. The flowers have rather thick petals very densly packed. The immature fruiting bodies feel like dense, bumpy rubber balls.

seriously cool, and at a glance, un-Apiaceae looking!

Tim, agreed, very cool family :)
There is another I've been looking at, I think a Lomatium, which is a metre or so tall, plus Anthriscus and others, and I have Heracleum growing naturally here--so they do have lots of appeal/potential besides the regular rock garden :)

Hoy wrote:

John, what do you call such a plant? Showy? Beautiful? Spectacular? Anyway it is a remarkable plant :)

Strangely, remarkably, cool??? Comes to mind.

Tim wrote:

My interest in these plants is being rapidly reignited. Thanks for the images and websites. I have also grown Shoshonea in the past, but didn't look after it well enough. There are some wonderful Mediterranean species adapted to similar but not so winter cold conditions - Athamanta turbith is probably my favourite. !

Fascinating plants being shown!
I can verify that Athamanta turbith ssp. haynaldii is reliably hardy in this zone 3 area, even without snow cover.  I believe Rick grows it in zone 4(?) too.
Shoshonea pulvinata wintered over last year here in a trough... no real record yet, but so far, so good!

I currently only grow only two Lomatiums but there are many around. I like the short matted types with gray leaves.
Lomatium austiniae (syn. L. plummerae)

Lomatium nevadense var nevadense. The flowers always look like they have been peppered. It's the dark purple staymens that give this effect.

Weiser wrote:

I currently only grow only two Lomatiums but there are many around. I like the short matted types with gray leaves.
Lomatium austiniae (syn. L. plummerae)

Lomatium nevadense var nevadense. The flowers always look like they have been peppered. It's the dark purple staymens that give this effect.

Both cool!

A few umbels flowering in our garden at the moment. Athamanta turbith grows on a raised bed along with Lomatium columbianum, and still stands as my favourite of the family in the garden. I think of it as like a symphony of green and white; simple but very beautiful. Later the small seeds are silvery-grey and attractive in themselves. I was introduced to it at the Chelsea Physic Garden in London, where I often went to sell plants.

The second, Laserpitium siler, came on the recommendation of a Landscape Architect friend from Belgium, who used it in his planting schemes. It is a tough plant, used to the severe cold of northern and central Europe, slow to establish but very perennial, and with rather distinctive open heads of flowers and greyish foliage.

Thirdly, probably one of the best plant introductions of recent years, Anthriscus sylvestris 'Ravenswing', the black-leaved cow parsley (or Queen Anne's Lace). This self-sows under the apple trees with others such as Aquilegias and Brunnera, and they make a fine picture at the moment, even in one of the driest springs we have had for years.

All nice, the last combination especially :)
I have some Raven's Wing seedlings, looking forward to seeing them grow up :) You don't find the Brunnera too vigorous in its selfsowing? a gardener in Manitoba was recently telling a tale of woe regarding all-green leafed seedlings of an expired B 'Jack Frost'....

Amazing scenes, Tim!  You have a fabulous garden!  :o

Mmmm, Lomatium - another genus to try! Thanks for opening our eyes to that one, John!

Cohan, Brunnera macrophylla self sows in moderation here... enough to start giving some seedlings away after a few years.  It's hard to imagine that anyone would find its relatively modest habit excessive though (if I'm interpreting your comment correctly), in comparison to the truly rampant seeding of so many other species!

Skulski wrote:

Cohan, Brunnera macrophylla self sows in moderation here... enough to start giving some seedlings away after a few years.  It's hard to imagine that anyone would find its relatively modest habit excessive though (if I'm interpreting your comment correctly), in comparison to the truly rampant seeding of so many other species!

Good to know, Lori, I haven't grown them, but sort of admired some of the variegated types, at least;
-- the person in Manitoba was giving a warning (coldzone yahoo group, mostly western Canadian members) that this plant must be deadheaded if you were going to grow it at all, or planted by itself far from anything else! I think part of the problem was that the variegated parent died, leaving only green seedlings, and they were coming up in the middle of some more valued plants...lol

Well, that seems like a very extreme view, based on what I've seen, and on never having heard a similar complaint.  ???  

That's good, Lori, since I was kind of thinking about it--if I run across a cheap plant somewhere..lol

Off topic but...
Cohan, if you ever have a reason to visit Calgary, you should let me know in advance... Having a mature perennial garden (that is in a constant state of flux due to needing more alpine beds!), I have many plants that I'd be happy to share!  I tend not to divide many things, but I have lots of seedlings, offsets, etc., often blooming-size plants, that I pot up to give away.

Thanks, Lori, I'll let you know if we are going that way and my driver is amenable to a stop...lol

Re. Brunnera. With me this self-sows hugely and seems to grow as well in full sun as shade. Because I have so many seedlings I have decided to use it as ground cover under our rows of fruit trees - but we have a big garden of around 1 and 1/2 acres.

I neglected to say that Anthriscus sylvestris 'Ravenswing' was discovered and introduced by Prof. John Richards of Primula fame. If a nurseryman had found it they could have made a fortune!

Well, live and learn!  :)

Here's Shoshonea pulvinata in a trough, wintered over from last year - a tiny thing at present.   I've only seen it in photos... I expect the flower stems will elongate, unless this is some particularly dwarfish form??  I got it from Beaver Creek, at last year's CRAGS spring plant sale.

Skulski wrote:

Well, live and learn!  :)

Here's Shoshonea pulvinata in a trough, wintered over from last year - a tiny thing at present.   I've only seen it in photos... I expect the flower stems will elongate, unless this is some particularly dwarfish form??   I got it from Beaver Creek, at last year's CRAGS spring plant sale.

Cute!

Skulski wrote:

Well, live and learn!  :)

Here's Shoshonea pulvinata in a trough, wintered over from last year - a tiny thing at present.   I've only seen it in photos... I expect the flower stems will elongate, unless this is some particularly dwarfish form??   I got it from Beaver Creek, at last year's CRAGS spring plant sale.

I would hardly guessed that this is a Apiaceae!

Here Brunnera makes runners and selfsow but not much.

A selection of my umbellifers:

1. Lomatium nudicaule: of the 10 or so I’ve tried, 5 have survived and this is the easiest and the only one to have flowered and seeded itself.
2). L. californicum (survived one winter and then died in the subsequent more severe winter)
3-6. I’m not sure which 2 species these are, but they’ve proven reliably hardy here having survived 4 or 5 winters. Just contrast the leaves of these with nudicaule … The possibilities are L. dissectum, utriculatum and triternatum (there are two pictures of each). Any suggestions?  
7. Lovage, Levisticum officinale is one of the grandest umbellifers and looks particularly smart when blanched in springtime (it then doesn’t taste unlike celery and much milder than unblanched)
8. Laser trilobum (I also grow Laserpitium siler and latifolium, all 3 reliably hardy here, down to about -23C)
9. Angelica keiskei – surprised me to see that the sap is yellow!
10. Angelica sylvestris “Vicar’s Mead” is also a nice foliage plant (like the Anthriscus) – here with Trillium camtschacensis and Hylomecon japonicum  

Very nice, Stephen.  Ahh, I was thinking about what to plant in a big area where we removed a huge old lilac last fall... Angelica would be suitably statuesque!  Lots of great ideas in your photos... lovage is worth growing for its appearance alone (aside from using the leaves for flavouring) - I should get myself another one.
Here are a couple more fairly interesting umbellifers:

Peucedanum ostruthium 'Daphnis' - I don't have many variegated plants but I am fond of this one (though, strangely, I have few good photos of it):
 

Pleurospermum szechenyii:
 
http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200015840

Lori, does the Pleurospermum remain that colour, or is that just spring foliage?

Some of these remind of several local umbellifers I am fond of, I'll have to dig up pictures--such as the very charming, subtle Sweet Cicely (blunt-fruited; Osmorhiza depauperata) which is common in the woods here.. I sent seed to Stephen, hopefully he gets some babies :)

cohan wrote:

Lori, does the Pleurospermum remain that colour, or is that just spring foliage?

It's actually dark purple throughout the season.

Lori: I've overwintered Peucedanum ostruthium 'Daphnis' (nice pictures) for the first time this year! Nice Pleurospermum too!

Cohan: I wonder what happened to the Osmorhiza you sent me (it was in the fall wasn't it?). I haven't noticed them germinating (my pots are in a bit of disarray as a cat got into my cold frame with winter stratified seeds and labels were everywhere... I have otherwise Osmorhiza longistylis (picture) and O. claytonii:

Lori--then wow!

Stephen, it may have been mid-winter when I sent the seed, though I'm not sure, I might have a pm record of it.. if it does not appear eventually, let me know, I can get more seed this year...

Great to see those various umbels. Stephen you have had better success with Lomatiums than me - I have grown nudicaule and californicum and a few others but had them on a gritty raised bed that may have been too dry and well drained, they never really got going well. I used to sell a few Laser trilobum on the nursery which shows there are gardeners who have a fascination with these plants - you could hardly call it showy. Lori's photo of Shoshonea is nice; this is definitely a plant I will try again - it is reminiscent of Olymposciadum caespitosum, which still grows on my raised bed and on the shady side of this, in deep grit, I have at last succeeded in getting Bolax gummifera to grow (this is a wonderful cushion plant often seen at the Shows and which I must have tried three or four times to date - its relative Azorella trifurcata is much easier and has made a lovely vivid green mat).

The latest umbel to flower - Orlaya grandiflora - an annual species that more than lives up to its name. I am not sure how many gardeners grow it but it flowers just at the right time for the Chelsea Show and is often used on displays there. This and Ammi majus are both superb dry meadow plants mixed with poppies and the like.

There are so many of these umbellifers that I don't know and never heard of, but I'm paying attention ;)  The Orlaya is pretty, the genus name sounding like it should be a town in Florida or a brand of potato chips :D

I didn't know what it was or what it's family might be when I saw it in seed in the Uppsala (Sweden) botanics a couple of years ago. Good to see it in flower!

That certainly seems like strange seed pods for the family.

I have tried to grow Orlaya from seed from another acquaintance in another garden forum.  She gave me so many seeds that I planted them in a pot and directly in soil outside. Nothing ever showed, even in future years.
Any special insights/experiences on this one?

With me Orlaya self seeds well, except when the rabbits discover it! Generally umbel seed should be sown pretty fresh and will germinate after a period of winter cold. Orlaya is a Mediterranean annual and should germinate with autumn rains if sown early enough, making strong overwintering plants. It sounds like you were just unlucky.

Umbel seeds are marvellously varied and quite a few have hooked spines like Orlaya, especially in dry habitats.

I have grown Orlaya at my summerhouse for many years but I have to sow it regularly.

Thanks, Tim.  Perhaps I will try again sometime.

It is not such an unusual one as some of those shown here, but Myrrhis odorata is looking nice right now...
   

Tim wrote:

With me Orlaya self seeds well, except when the rabbits discover it! Generally umbel seed should be sown pretty fresh and will germinate after a period of winter cold. Orlaya is a Mediterranean annual and should germinate with autumn rains if sown early enough, making strong overwintering plants. It sounds like you were just unlucky.

Umbel seeds are marvellously varied and quite a few have hooked spines like Orlaya, especially in dry habitats.

No chance of it self seeding in the wet north west or surviving the winter. Here it is a tender annual which needs to be sown in a warm propagator in spring and grown on in individual pots for planting out now which is what I have just done.Small country vastly varied climate.It is a lovely plant

Here's an update on Peucedanum ostruthium 'Daphnis'... I've gained a bit more appreciation for it since this thread started, and it really is an attractive thing:

Skulski wrote:

It is not such an unusual one as some of those shown here, but Myrrhis odorata is looking nice right now...

It is a very nice plant and the seeds taste like "King of Denemark" ( a kind of sweeties) but it is one of the worst  weeds here - I have it many places >:( ;)

I've just planted seedlings of "Bald Cicely", my name for a variety of Myrrhis odorata which is completely hairless - also an excellent spring vegetable...

This is what Gerard had to say on the matter in 1597 (Kew Gardens):

Delighted to see Tim's Orlaya: one of my favorites. It has been self sowing a bit more every year and starting to make quite a show for me. Unlike many spring annuals, it hangs in there through the summer and reblooms when we get the odd shower in summer. I recall seeing something like these here and there all over Greece in April and May. It is a must have in my opinion. I keep stumblng on whole genera that seem to be twins to Orlaya from all over Eurasia. The only one I have a picture of is from Central Asia, I photographed it last September...here goes:

1) Overall shot of Orlaya grandiflora in my dry garden
2) Closeup of the same
3) Semenovia sp photographed near the Observatory near treeline above Almaty in Kazakhstan Tian Shan...growing with what looks like Veronica spicata, but is not, I believe.

Love them umbels!

When I first became interested in these plants I was persuaded by the Hardy Plant Society to write one of their booklets on the family. Umbellifers have always been of interest to knowledgeable gardeners in the UK (such as Graham Stuart Thomas and Alan Bloom, both of whom wrote about them). Recently though they have been grown a lot more widely, especially in more naturalistic gardens, and they must always have an appeal even to non-gardeners because they are so recognisable. Even so it is only the very few that are grown in gardens. Looking back through this thread, and with the host of amazing North American umbels which are hardly grown anywhere, I am keen to learn a lot more about them and hopefully put this together in a more comprehensive book on the family (a bit of a tall order since it is such a large family!). There are quite a few nurserypeople I know with a fascination in the family - for example Marina Christopher who used to work with John Coke at Green Farm Plants, and who values them especially for the very wide range of pollinators they attract, and Graham Gough at Marchants Nursery and John-Pierre Jolivot in France.

I would be very grateful for any information from members of the NARGS who grow umbels (there is quite bit already on this thread already which is really helpful and stimulating) or even more who have experience of seeing them in the wild. I aim to try more of the North American species from seed since these are virtually unknown in cultivation. There are also quite a few alpine species in particular that have been introduced from South America.

I think the diversity of the family would surprise many even botanically minded gardeners and the long historical uses of umbels in medicine and as foods have given them such enduring interest. It may be quite a long project but there has been very little written on the family from a gardening perspective. Many thanks in advance.

Tim
Here is one you will not see every day, Cymopterus globosus. I have only come across this little desert Spring Parsely one time, on a low, very cobbled  hill in eastern Nevada. The flower heads feel like a moist, dense rubber ball when you squeeze them. I can't find a lot of information about it but it is a uniqui little guy. I hope some day to find it in seed.

http://aplantaday.blogspot.com/2011/04/globe-springparsley-cymopterus-gl...
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=CYGL2

Cymopteris globosus is an amazing plant.  I thought it rang a bell, and sure enough, I posted a CalPhotos link to this species and several other fantastic Cymopteris here:
http://nargs.org/smf/index.php?topic=662.msg8397#msg8397

Glad to be reminded of such unique plants as the NARGS Seedex opening approaches.

Some of the Cymopterus really are extraordinary! It is interesting how little they are known in comparison even with many of alpine umbels of South America and New Zealand. Mind you they must be really difficult to grow in the garden in many cases; I have always thought them very like bulbs with their early flowering habit and summer aestivation. I have tried a few of these from seed and had good germination (in some cases in the fridge!), but haven't yet managed to grow them on successfully. They must be good candidates for a sand or crevice bed. (There is a glorious example on the Alplains list - Cymopterus planosus - who would not want to grow a plant like that!!).

Two pix: the first is good old Lomatium dissectum: big, variable, easy in the garden. Here photographed on the West Elk Mts. in mid July in aspenwoods at about 8000-9000'.

The second is more problematical: Oreoxis humilis only grows on Pikes peak. I believe it is proposed for endangered species status. It is very cute and probably quite growable. Too this a few days after the last picture.

I spent the day with my girlfriend at the Stanford Mall (quite the shopping center): I cannot remember the name of the manufacturer, but there was an exquisite set of China at Bloomingdale's featuring all manner of Umbelliferae. Very appropriate to this string...

Wow, Oreoxis humilis is a beauty!  Found a link from 2009 concerning endangered species status, with disappointing news. PK, hopefully you'll be collecting seed on it sometime (before it does get listed) and grow them at DBG.

USDA list 4 secies of Oreoxis
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=OREOX

Oreoxis humilis
In the following USDA Forest Service documents, the range is given as only Colorado.
http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/projects/scp/assessments/oreoxishumilis.pdf
http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/rareplants/profiles/critically_imperile...
...and listed as only Colorado in this U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service document entitled "Endangered Species Act Protections for 165 Petitioned Species Not Warranted":
http://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/pressrel/09-04.html

...curiously the UDSA Plant Profile includes New Mexico in its range, probably a mistake:
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=ORHU

Oreoxis alpina (and O. bakeri):
http://www.swcoloradowildflowers.com/Yellow%20Enlarged%20Photo%20Pages/o...
...O. alpina on the NARGS Wiki:
http://www.nargs.org/nargswiki/tiki-browse_image.php?imageId=2960

Oreoxis bakeri
http://www.flickr.com/photos/12803916@N00/3936911951/

Oreoxis trotteri:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/35623196/Oreoxis-trotteri-Utah-Rare-Plants

I like the look of them. Do they go dormant in the summer months?

Here we have Lomatium nevadense var nevadense a more wild spread miniature species. Easy from seed and summer dormant.

http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=LONEN

It's good to hear that they are easy from seed.  Does that mean they don't need conditioning (stratification) or would you recommend it? 

I've tried Lomatium columbianum a couple of times now with no germination at room temp, or stratified in the cold room, or over the winter outdoors - very frustrating!  I wonder if the seeds have limited longevity?  Then again, I seem to have problems germinating Apiaceae in general... what's the trick?

Lori
I just scattered the seed and let nature take care of the rest. I think stratification will not hurt them. We are so hot and dry in the summer that the seedlings can't sprout so have to wait for spring. It takes a couple of years for them to reach flowering size.

Okay then, by scattering them outside, they are being stratified (exposed to varying temperatures)... good to know.  Thank you!

Really like that Oreoxis and the further details from Mark - these small umbels have the same appeal that the larger herbaceous species have, even if a lot more tricky to grow. I have always sown umbellifer seed in the cooling days of autumn (if I get the seed early enough), so it gets a spell of warm and moist weather, with cooler nights, and then a winter stratification. Usually then germination is pretty good in spring. However, I have had seed sown late and stratified in the fridge germinate still at 4°C in the dark (similarly with eriogonums). This year plants of Lomatium columbianum in our garden set lots of seed so I hope for good germination next year. I find the foliage of these plants irresistable.

Very helpful to read your germination experiences too, Tim.  Thanks.

NARGS seed of Lomatium columbianum from 2007 germinated mid-June here (I just sowed the seed in a pot  and stratified in a cold frame outside). However, I lost it the following winter. I have succeeded with 3 or 4 Lomatium species of about 14 species that I've tried here!

cohan wrote:

Some of these remind of several local umbellifers I am fond of, I'll have to dig up pictures--such as the very charming, subtle Sweet Cicely (blunt-fruited; Osmorhiza depauperata) which is common in the woods here.. I sent seed to Stephen, hopefully he gets some babies :)

Unfortunately, there were no babies, perhaps next spring?

Lori wrote:

Here's an update on Peucedanum ostruthium 'Daphnis'... I've gained a bit more appreciation for it since this thread started, and it really is an attractive thing:
[attachthumb=1]

Yes, very nice, but it might also be a bit thuglike too - I've noticed it spread quite far in one season, worth keeping an eye on!

The dry (on top of cold, I suppose) conditions here have seemed to keep it in check so far, but I will certainly watch it.

Tim: your picture of Lomatium columbianum is stunning: but white! I have seen this in full bloom in the Columbia River gorge where it is incredibly beautiful (deep rose purple red flowers): your foliage is the same silvery blue, but you must have an albino! I never saw white flowered ones in nature...you may or not be aware this is quite a rare plant in nature. So having an albino (even rarer) is something special. But you need the purple phase too! Most lomatiums are yellow, so white and purple are very cool!

I thought the white flowers were the Athamantha turbith... ?    ???

Yes - sorry, I have the two plants growing next to each other and the picture was taken after the Lomatium had flowered.

Kelaidis wrote:

Tim: your picture of Lomatium columbianum is stunning: but white!

I thought the white was the Athamanta turbith (?)

Edited to say:
You both posted as I was doing mine, I guess.  Isn't it interesting that you and I, Lori, chose the same wording...

Well, guess we've cleared that up...  :D

Lots more beauties- love them all-- the Oreoxis is very cute! I think I have a few Cymopterus seedlings-- some I think came up second spring..
Alplains has a lot of these, have to check there for Oreoxis...

Stephenb wrote:

cohan wrote:

Some of these remind of several local umbellifers I am fond of, I'll have to dig up pictures--such as the very charming, subtle Sweet Cicely (blunt-fruited; Osmorhiza depauperata) which is common in the woods here.. I sent seed to Stephen, hopefully he gets some babies :)

Unfortunately, there were no babies, perhaps next spring?

Cohan: I now have lots of babies of depauperata, just a long gestation period!

Great to know :) these have been emerging in the woods here the last few weeks, always great to see those pretty leaves :)

This is Athamanta turbith flowering again this summer on a raised bed, and it still holds pride of place in my affection for umbels; such a delicate and beautiful plant. The aquilegia is triternata, but unfortunately this has crossed with other more vigorous species close by in the garden and a lot of very different specimens have appeared on the bed as well.

A handsome and elegant Apiaceae, Tim!
Here's another kind of flowers: Bupleurum longifolium from seed a couple of years ago.

The Athamanta looks good! I have a small plant and am yet to see what the fuss is about...

Lomatium urticulatum (I think it's this species, but please correct me if wrong) flowered for the first time this year, in the first picture with L. nudicaule:

Great contrast between those two Stephen - nudicaule is so distinct but urticulatum resembles so many other species! I'm aiming to gather more information on umbels over this coming autumn/winter so will have to quiz you on what you grow! The number of people who grow these American species must be pretty much counted on one hand.

Trond - that longifolium is very striking. I have grown it but it never seems long lived. Wonderful flower arrangers plant!

Please do, Tim - I'll collect what seed I can...

No new ones - I remain totally unable to grow umbellifers from seed!  >:(  - just some of the old ones in bloom:
Athamanta turbith ssp. haynaldii:

Pimpinella major 'Rosea':

Peucedanum ostruthium 'Daphnis':
 

Lori wrote:

No new ones - I remain totally unable to grow umbellifers from seed!  >:(  - just some of the old ones in bloom:

I have exactly two seedlings of Cymopterus (planosus, I think) from Alplains seed two years ago...lol.. several Angelicas from StephenB did nothing for me, but Anthriscus Ravenswing from Kristl did germinate well, and I have a couple doing well in ground- tried a drier spot which died over winter and a wetter spot which is doing well, no sign of flowers yet, though!

This umbellifer, Angelica sylvestris, was very busy starting flowering before the umbel had cleared from the sheath. The first picture is from yesterday, the other from today.

Trond - Angelica sylvestris isn't seen too much in gardens, much less than the culinary A. archangelica, but has sported to produce deep purple leaved forms like Anthriscus sylvestris 'Ravenswing'. Rather stunning specimens, but because they are biennial they come and go and don't self-seed with the freedom of cow parsley.

Cohan - will be interested to know how you get on with the Cymopterus - so far I have germinated quite a number but not managed to grow them on well. I think they need the same treatment as many bulbs - so really summer dry as they aestivate naturally. The smaller species are the most striking but the larger probably the ones easiest to grow. Are they grown at Denver at all I wonder?

Lori - if I have my own seed I sow it in the autumn and usually get good germination the following spring. I think the oily nature of the seed tends to make it more hydrophobic as it dries out and older seed can be really slow and difficult to come up, if at all. Late sown seed I often put in the fridge for 4 to 6 weeks and this has been quite good for Lomatium and Cymopterus, in fact they sometimes begin to germinate in the fridge as I have also found with Eriogonum. I am aiming to write something on the family so really want to learn a lot more about the American species.

Tim wrote:

Trond - Angelica sylvestris isn't seen too much in gardens, much less than the culinary A. archangelica, but has sported to produce deep purple leaved forms like Anthriscus sylvestris 'Ravenswing'. Rather stunning specimens, but because they are biennial they come and go and don't self-seed with the freedom of cow parsley.

Tim, I haven't planted A sylvestris but I haven't removed it either ;)

Both A sylvestris and archangelica are native here and archangelica is a weed. I remove hundreds every year but let some grow as they are important for some butterfly caterpillars and the plant belongs to the shore.
Purple leaved forms had been interesting though!

Is Angelica sylvestris then the same as Anthriscus sylvestris?
Anthriscus sylvestris Ravenswing is not that large here yet, but assuming I get flowers and seeds, I'll have to make sure to replant some on purpose!

The Cymopterus I have was, I think, sown in 2010, though I think I was too late in spring to get adequate cold stratification, and they germinated last year.. still in the pot and still very tiny.. if I get the bed intended for dryland North Americans finished soon enough (working in that general area- building the alpine stretch now, then a sort of steppe area in front of it) I will plant them out this year..
Can't say I have any great insight to special treatment for them, other than that they will get a highly drained area, and the overall design will hopefully create a bit of a heat sink... Our greatest precip is usually from late May or early June until early to mid July, so time will tell how dry summer plants will do here! I'm hoping our generally cool spring/early summer will be the growing period for that sort of plant and they wont mind the moisture then.... a long hot dry summer is not going to happen here, at least not in recent years' patterns!

No, Angelica sylvestris and Anthriscus sylvestris are two different plants. They all (including Angelica archangelica) grow here and are a bit weedy.

Another umbellifer here, and much more refined and elegant, is the annual Torilis japonica (it is native despite the epithet).

There's also the variegated Angelica archangelica 'Corinne Tremaine'. Anyone had successs with that one? I've sown seed twice, but the resultant plants have been very weak and haven't survived.

We also have an heirloom Angelica archangelica ssp archangelica v. Majorum, Voss Angelica, a traditional cultivated selection with filled (solid) leaf stalks. You can read about it here: http://www.skogoglandskap.no/filearchive/angelica_fossaa.pdf

Re-Cymopterus - I bought several species from Alplains this year but I was probably also a bit late like Cohan and only one seedling has appeared so far...

Truth be known quite a number of umbels are weedy!! But they can be very beautiful, like Selinum wallichianum from the Himalayas, which flowers later into the summer and has the most fine foliage of all, or very different, like Thapsia maxima (below) from the south-west Mediterranean. The most extraordinary must be the eryngiums - this one, bourgatii, is widely grown but also very free seeding. The larger colouring flowers with long spiky bracts are actually on a single plant that grew earlier than the rest and could be an interesting variant. I have this planted in a bulb bed which it effectively takes over after the bulbs have flowered and are dying down - I am trying to weed it out of more alpine areas!

Nice, Tim. 

Here's Eryngium alpinum in bud:

I'm very envious Lori because I've never been able to grow alpinum very well and you really don't see it in gardens so much. Those bracts are wonderfully dissected and quite soft compared to most eryngos.

I liked the foliage of Eryngium bourgatii better than the flowers when I grew it.  Doesn't seem to be very zone 4 winter hardy.  They only lasted two or three seasons from seed.

Eryngium amethystinum has flowers nearing full size, but haven't turned color yet.

I've had something I've been referring to as Eryngium x zabellii for many years now... I'm sort of wondering if it may not be E. bourgatii - I'll have to pay closer attention to it this year.
Love that Bupleurum longifolium, Trond!
It's disappointing that a couple of Angelica sp. used to generally be available as potted plants around here but not so for the last few years.  I was hoping to find one at a nursery to fill some of the big gaps left by shrub removal.
Tim, your mention of Selinum reminds me that I did grow Selinum tenuifolium for a few years; it never did bloom, oddly enough, but I did enjoy the foliage.  I must try these again.
Interesting thread... I'm realizing that many plants that I would not have suspected to be, are actually umbellifers!

Astrantia major:

Astrantia carniolica 'Rubra'... or so it is supposed to be - I was just reading recently that this is supposed to be a dwarf astrantia, and my plants certainly are not!

Tim: I remember being struck by Selinum wallichianum the first time I saw it in the botanical garden in Århus, Denmark, but it hasn't found a permanent place in my garden as it isn't edible enough.  ;)

Heracleums are so common that we tend to ignore them, but they are attractive plants if we care to look!  I've also grown Heracleum sphondylium "Hoggin' the Limelight", a yellow leaved form, but it died on me. I'd also like to get hold of Heracleum maximum "Washington Limes".

Angelica sylvestris "Vicar's Mead" and Angelica atropurpurea.

Stephen,
does Vicar's Mead come true from seed and stay pink? I have often noticed pink coloration on newly emerged umbels but they always fade to white.

I didnt realise Astrantias and Eryngiums were umbellifers- interesting! Still love the purple Angelicas- and quite lovely foliage on the Selinums as well...

One of my favourite of the natives is the very delicate Cicuta bulbifera -bulbous water hemlock.. I thought perhaps it was inappropriate to cultivate it, but then as long as I'm not mixing it with water parsnips, I don't see an issue  ;D - I don't think twice about growing other poisonous plants such as Zigadenus.. Maybe I will collect some bulbils this year..

Hoy wrote:

Stephen,
does Vicar's Mead come true from seed and stay pink? I have often noticed pink coloration on newly emerged umbels but they always fade to white.

I've only gown it once (from NARGS seed). As far as I remember it remained pink throughout and also seemed to be a lower more compact plant than the wild plant, one of which is seen below. I think the reason I didn't grow it again is that the seed didn't mature - I had the plant on the north side of my house - it might have benefitted from a sunnier location.

Angelica gigas is another garden worthy Angelica, but I've lost this one too as it didn't produce seed last summer...

No sign of losing Angelica grayi (Gray's Angelica) though as it's turned out to be perennial and is now 10 years old. However, I've never checked it's identity. Anyone have a key to North American Angelica?

Like the Angelica gigas with monarda and lily - all these plants struggle in our summer dry garden, though might have done better this year (which was actually spring 'very dry' and summer 'quite cool and moist'). The pictures of Selinum show what a very lovely plant it is with those dark stems. And I am interested in Angelica grayi - I've not grown this, but until now I have tended to assume all angelicas are monocarpic. Do you get many wasps pollinating A. gigas? Umbels are great for all sorts of insects but some seem to especially attract different types.