Perideridia lemmonii
Lemmon's yampah
(c) Tim Messick, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Tim Messick · licence
Family: Apiaceae · Type: Herb · Native
Perideridia lemmonii (Lemmon's yampah) is a native California herb in the Apiaceae family, recognized by absence of bracts diagnostic.
Lemmon's yampah is a California native perennial found in the Sierra Nevada and northern Sierra Nevada eastern regions in open meadows and conifer forest edges at elevations of 760 to 2,500 meters. Flowering from July to August, this plant produces small white flowers in delicate umbels with 10 to 14 rays spreading up to 3.5 centimeters long. Growing 25 to 90 centimeters tall with tuberous roots, it develops erect stems with distinctive ternate basal leaves that are approximately ovate and can be 10 to 30 centimeters long. Its leaves feature 1 to 2 pairs of lance-linear primary leaflets, each 3 to 10 centimeters long and generally entire. The fruit is an oblong to round structure 3 to 4.5 millimeters long with thread-like ribs and a single oil tube between each rib.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 7 sympatric species; absence of bracts diagnostic
Habitat and range
Habitat: Open meadows, conifer forest edges
Elevation: 760-2500 m
California counties: Alpine, Plumas, Tulare, Lassen, Mariposa, Tuolumne, Fresno, Mono, Siskiyou, Nevada, Placer, Butte, El Dorado, Amador, Calaveras, Sierra, Madera, Yuba, Shasta, Del Norte, San Mateo, Modoc, Humboldt, Tehama
Outside California: southeastern Oregon, western Nevada
Bloom period
Perideridia lemmonii blooms Jul-Aug.
How to tell it apart
vs Ligusticum: Perideridia grows from tubers in grasslands; Ligusticum grows from taproots in mountain forests.; vs Daucus: Perideridia fruits are rounded with thin ribs; Daucus fruits are bristly and form a bird's-nest cluster.; vs Eriogonum: Eriogonum is in the buckwheat family with papery flowers; Perideridia has carrot-family umbels.; vs Angelica: Perideridia has small rounded fruits; Angelica has large flattened fruits with broad wings.; vs Achillea: Achillea is in the sunflower family with flat-topped flower heads; Perideridia has carrot-family umbels.
Frequently asked questions
Is Perideridia lemmonii native to California?
Yes. Perideridia lemmonii is native to California (recorded as native).
When does Perideridia lemmonii bloom?
Perideridia lemmonii blooms Jul-Aug.
Where in California does Perideridia lemmonii grow?
Perideridia lemmonii occurs in Alpine, Plumas, Tulare, Lassen, Mariposa, Tuolumne, Fresno, Mono and other counties, at elevations of 760-2500 m.
What plant family does Perideridia lemmonii belong to?
Perideridia lemmonii is in the Apiaceae family, genus Perideridia.
What habitat does Perideridia lemmonii grow in?
Perideridia lemmonii grows in Open meadows, conifer forest edges.
Related species
Other California species in the same genus, family, or bioregion.
Sources: Jepson eFlora · Index of California Plant Names · CalPhotos
Last updated 2026-10-07
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Cal-IPC, and more.