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Native Plant Propagation Guidelines:
forbs

Perideridia gairdneri (Gairdner’s yampah)

Category: 
forbs

photo by Moralea Milne

Slender hairless perennial from a tuberous-thickened root; stems leafy, solitary, 40-120 cm tall. Leaves several, well-distributed along the stem, once or sometimes twice pinnately divided into long, narrow segments, leaf stalks sheathing basally. Flowers white or pinkish, small; several to many in small compact heads united into one to several compound umbels; involucral bracts lacking. Fruits nearly spherical, 2-3 mm in diameter, slightly flattened, hairless and prominently ribbed (Pojar and MacKinnon, 1994). Photo by Moralea Milne.

Scientific Name: 

Perideridia gairdneri (H. & A.) Mathias

Family: 
Apiaceae
English Name: 
Gairdner's yampah
Other Names: 
wild caraway

Geographical Range and Habitat Requirements

Ecological Setting: 

Dry to vernally moist open forest, meadows and mossy or grassy slopes; low to mid-elevations; scattered but locally common. Occurs from southern B.C. to southern California and east to Saskatchewan, South Dakota and Colorado.

Soil Texture: 

Well-drained soils.

Nutrients: 

Nitrogen-medium soils.

Soil Reaction and Salinity: 

Slightly acid to mildly alkaline.

Moisture Regime: 

Dry to fresh, moisture-deficient sites.

Shade Tolerance: 

Very shade intolerant.

Successional Status: 

Climax on drier sites, seral on moister sites.

BEC Zone and GOE Community Status: 

Meadow communities in Garry oak ecosystems.

Uses

Site Rehabilitation: 

Potential reclamation species for dry, open sites.

Wildlife: 
n/a
Landscaping: 
n/a
First Nations: 

Roots boiled and eaten, or dried and pounded to make flour with an anise seed-like taste (Pojar and MacKinnon, Turner 1995).

Other Uses: 
n/a

Seed Propagation

Flowering Time: 

May-June

Fruit Ripening Time: 

July - August

Seed Collection Time: 

August

Crop Intervals: 

Annual

Number of Seeds per Kilogram: 

250,000

Seed Viability: 

50 - 65 %

Fruit and Seed Collection and Extraction: 

Hand collect seeds in August when seeds have turned brown and are easily stripped off inflorescence into paper bags.

Seed Storage: 

Store seeds in sealed containers at 5º C. Seed will retain viability for up to five years.

Fruit/Seed Dormancy and Treatment: 

Sow seeds in fall and allow natural stratification, or sow stored seeds in the spring after six to eight weeks of cold, moist stratification.

Vegetative Propagation

No information available.

Outplanting Characteristics and Requirements

n/a

Seed and Cutting Propagation Techniques

n/a

Additional Information and Photos

For more information and pictures, visit the E-Flora BC website at www.eflora.bc.ca.