Perideridia gairdneri

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Cladus: Asterids
Cladus: Campanulids
Ordo: Apiales

Familia: Apiaceae
Subfamilia: Apioideae
Tribus: Oenantheae
Genus: Perideridia
Species: Perideridia gairdneri
Subspecies: P. g. subsp. borealis – P. g. subsp. gairdneri
Name

Perideridia gairdneri (Hook. & Arn.) Mathias, 1936
References

Mathias, M.E., Brittonia; a Series of Botanical Papers. New York, NY 2:244. 1936

Links

Hassler, M. 2018. Perideridia gairdneri. World Plants: Synonymic Checklists of the Vascular Plants of the World In: Roskovh, Y., Abucay, L., Orrell, T., Nicolson, D., Bailly, N., Kirk, P., Bourgoin, T., DeWalt, R.E., Decock, W., De Wever, A., Nieukerken, E. van, Zarucchi, J. & Penev, L., eds. 2018. Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2018 Aug. 25. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2018. Perideridia gairdneri. Published online. Accessed: Aug. 25 2018.
The Plant List 2013. Perideridia gairdneri in The Plant List Version 1.1. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2018 Aug. 25.
Tropicos.org 2018. Perideridia gairdneri. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2018 Aug. 25.
USDA, ARS, Germplasm Resources Information Network. Perideridia gairdneri in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service. Accessed: 07-Oct-06.

Vernacular names
Deutsch: Yampawurzel
English: Gardner's yampah, common yampah, Indian caraway

Perideridia gairdneri is a species of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae known by the common names common yampah and Gardner's yampah. It is native to western North America from southwestern Canada to California to New Mexico, where it grows in many types of habitat. It is a perennial herb which grows to around .6–1 metre (2.0–3.3 ft).[1] Its slender, erect stem grows from cylindrical tubers measuring up to 8 centimeters long. Leaves near the base of the plant have blades up to 35 centimeters long which are divided into many narrow, subdivided lobes. Leaves higher on the plant are smaller and less divided. The inflorescence is a compound umbel of many spherical clusters of small white flowers. These yield ribbed, rounded fruits each a few millimeters long.

The entire plant is edible, but caution should be maintained as it has a similar appearance to the carrot family's deadly water hemlock and poison hemlock.[1] It was an important food plant, even a staple food, for many Native American groups, including the Blackfoot, Northern Paiute, Cheyenne and Comanche. It would seem certain that the term "yampa" would be a version on the Comanche name for the tuber, variously yap, and yampa. One of the main divisions of the Comanche, the Yapainuu, were named the yap eaters, whose chief was the famous Ten Bears. More commonly referred to as the Yamparikas, this division roamed in the Northern Oklahoma area in historic times.[2] The tuberous roots could be eaten like potatoes, roasted, steamed, eaten fresh or dried, made into mush or pinole, used as flour and flavoring, and were also used medicinally.[2] Meriwether Lewis encountered the plant in 1805 and 1806, referring to it as a species of fennel.[1]

This food root is called cawíitx in Nez Perce , sawítk in Sahaptin and yap in Comanche.
References

Nyerges, Christopher (2017). Foraging Washington: Finding, Identifying, and Preparing Edible Wild Foods. Guilford, CT: Falcon Guides. ISBN 978-1-4930-2534-3. OCLC 965922681.

Ethnobotany

Kavanagh, Thomas W., Comanche Ethnography; U. of Nebraska Press, 2008. p. 45.