Canby's Lovage, Ligusticum Canbyi

Day 279: I am embarrassed to admit that had it not been for a friend who is a botanist, I would have passed by Canby's Lovage without as much as a nod in its direction. Of the two Lovages found in Mount Rainier National Park, Canby's is much less common than Gray's, and both occur in the subalpine zone. But who pays attention to white umbels when the meadows are filled with Sitka Valerian? Fortunately, my friend is a good observer. She alerted me to the presence of Canby's at Reflection Lake where undoubtedly, I've walked past it dozens of times before.

Canby's Lovage may be distinguished from Gray's by a more dense umbel of 15-30 rays terminating in smaller umbelets as opposed to an umbel of 7-10 rays, and the presence of one or two leaflets on the stem (insert). Gray's occasionally bears one leaflet, but the stem is usually leafless. Despite being less common than Gray's which is only present above 5000', Canby's Lovage can be found at somewhat lower elevations (4000'). The upper range of 7000' is the same for both species.