Lomatium cous, also known as Indian Biscuitroot, blooms in the spring across the scablands and shrub-steppe landscape of the Northwest as early as February. The plant is a perennial herb in the Umbelliferae family, a relative of parsley and carrot. It has dark green lacey leaves from which a red stem arises to carry umbels of multiple tiny yellow flowers gathered tightly into bumpershoots.
‘Cous’ has supplied a key resource for the Plateau tribes since the end of the last ice age. Lewis and Clark noted the natives trading it in 1805, and purchased ‘root bread’ in 1806. It has large, irregularly shaped roots that are boiled, roasted or pounded and formed into cakes, and historically have provided important nutrition for native people. The tubers store nutritious carbohydrates that support leaves, flower and seed production.
