Sison amomum

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Stone parsley
Sison amomum flower (02).jpg
Close up of a flower umbel
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Apiales
Family: Apiaceae
Genus: Sison
Species:
S. amomum
Binomial name
Sison amomum
SisonAmomumRange.jpg
European range of Sison amomum
Synonyms

Apium amomum
Stokes (1812)
Apium catalaunicum
Thell. & Calest. (1905)
Carum amomum Koso-Pol. (1915)
Cicuta amomum Crantz (1767)
Pimpinella gracilis catalaunica
Reutera albiflora Costa (1877)
Reutera gracilis catalaunica
Seseli amomum Scop. (1771)
Sison amomum catalaunicum
Hegi (1926)
Sison amomus St.-Lag (1880)
Sison aromaticum
Sison erectum Salisb. (1796)
Sison heterophyllum
Moench (1784)
Sium amomum Roth (1789)
Sium aromaticum Lam. (1779)

Contents

Sison amomum is one of several species of plant in the genus of Sison , its common name is stone parsley and it is native to Western and Southern Europe, North Africa and Turkey. The species and genus are flowering plants in the family Apiaceae, both of which were first described by Carl Linnaeus, in his book Species Plantarum , originally published in 1753. The plant has many synonyms, having also subsequently been described by other botanists, after Linnaeus, including Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, Richard Anthony Salisbury, Conrad Moench, Emanuel Mendes da Costa, and Albert Thellung among others.

Stone parsley is an erect hairless plant, and produces a foul odour if crushed. The species usually reaches between 30 and 70 cm (12 and 28 in) in height, although it can grow up to 1 m (3.3 ft). The plant has thin, solid and striated stems which branch profusely and it produces small globular fruit around in 3 mm (0.12 in) diametre. Stone parsley has tiny white flowers, usually 1 to 3 mm (0.039 to 0.118 in) in size, with a green patch in the centre. The flowers grow on long stalks of different lengths, in umbels up to 4 cm (1.6 in) wide. The flowers usually have five irregular, notched petals, five stamen, and two short styles but do not grow sepals, they usually come to bloom between July and September. The species has between two and four short linear bracts, which emerge from below the umbels and up to four bracteole. The roots, leaves, and seeds of the plant are edible, and have historically been used for food, the seeds can be used to produce condiments. The larva of several insect species, mostly moths, are parasites to the plant, often in the form of leaf miners.

Stone parsley is found in rough grassland, grassy banks, beside roads, railways, paths and hedgerows, often in waste grounds, disturbed ground and on heavy soil. The species was originally from Southern France, near the Mediterranean Sea, then spread across France and in into Great Britain by the late eighteenth century, and into Spain and Belgium by the nineteenth century. By the twentieth century it was recorded in Italy, Germany, Algeria the Balkans, the Caucasus, Mediterranean islands of Sicily, Corsica, Sardinia and the Balearics and had been introduced into New Zealand, in the twenty-first century it has also been found in Switzerland and Norway.

Taxonomy

Sison amomum is one of several species in the genus of Sison , [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] along with Sison exaltatum , Sison segetum , [1] [3] Sison trinervium , and Sison scaligerioides . [3] The species and genus are flowering plants in the family Apiaceae, [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] native to western and southern Europe [2] [4] [10] [8] and north Africa. [2] They were first described by Carl Linnaeus, [1] [4] [6] [10] in his book Species Plantarum , originally published in 1753, [1] which listed every plant species known at the time, classified into genera. The plant was known about before being formally described, it is mentioned by the name stone parsley in the 1684 book Aristotle's Masterpiece , which claims it is useful for "cleansing the womb", suggesting it may have been used as an abortifacient.

Name and synonyms

Illustration of a robber fly with the plant by John Curtis from his book British Entomology published between 1824 and 1840, he refers to the plant species as Sison amomum and Bastard Stone Parsley Britishentomologyvolume8Plate94.jpg
Illustration of a robber fly with the plant by John Curtis from his book British Entomology published between 1824 and 1840, he refers to the plant species as Sison amomum and Bastard Stone Parsley

The species’ binomial name is Sison amomum, [4] [5] [8] [9] [11] [10] [12] [13] its common name is stone parsley. [4] [5] [8] [9] [12] [13] The binomial name was used by Carl Linnaeus, [1] [4] [5] [10] in his 1753 book Species Plantarum , which was the first to describe the plant species among many others. [1] The plant has also been referred to as bastard stone parsley, such as by John Curtis, in his book British Entomology published between 1824 and 1840. Another plant species, Cryptotaenia japonica is also known as stone parsley among many other names, it too is a member of the Apiaceae family with small white flowers, like Sison amomum, but it is native to East Asia. [14] Seseli , a different plant genus of around 140 species, also in the Apiacaea family, is sometimes referred to by the name stone parsley too. [8]

Synonyms

The plant has many synonyms, including, Apium amomum, Sium aromaticum, [11] [7] [4] Carum amomum, Cicuta amomum, Pimpinella gracilis catalaunica, Reutera albiflora, Reutera gracilis catalaunica, Seseli amomum, Sison amomum catalaunicum, Sison aromaticum, Sison erectum, Sison heterophyllum, and Sium amomum. [11] [5] [7]

Homotypic synonyms that have been used to describe the species include Cicuta amomum by Heinrich Johann Nepomuk von Crantz in Classis cruciformium emendata cum figuris aeneis in necessarium instit. rei herbariae supplementum in 1767, Seseli amomum by Giovanni Antonio Scopoli in Flora Carniolica in 1771, Sium amomum by Albrecht Wilhelm Roth in Tentamen florae germanicae in 1789, Apium amomum by Jonathan Stokes in A Botanical Materia Medica in 1812, and Carum amomum by Boris Kozo-Polyansky in New principle of biology. Essay on the Theory of Symbiogenesis, Moscow in 1915. [7] [5]

Heterotypic synonyms that have been used to describe stone parsley include Sium aromaticum by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck in Flore françoise, ou, Description succincte de toutes les plantes qui croissent naturellement en France in 1779, Sison erectum by Richard Anthony Salisbury in Prodromus stirpium in horto ad Chapel Allerton vigentium in 1796, Sison heterophyllum by Conrad Moench in Methodus plantas horti botanici et agri Marburgensis: a staminum situ describendi in 1794, Reutera gracilis var. catalaunica by Emanuel Mendes da Costa in 1864 and 1874, Reutera albiflora by Emanuel Mendes da Costa in 1877, Sison amomus by Jean Baptiste Saint-Lager in 1880, Apium catalaunicum by Albert Thellung and Vittorio Calestani in Contributo alla sistematica della Ombrellifere D'Europa, Webbia in 1905 and Sison amomum var. catalaunicum Gustav Hegi in 1926. [7] [5]

Name in other languages

In addition to stone parsley in English, Sison amomum has several different common names or alternative names in many other European languages, from regions were the species is native, several of them refer to the plant's odour.

Description

Sison amomum is an erect hairless plant, its stem is solid with fine ridges, [9] and it produces a foul odour if crushed, [9] [8] which has been described as smelling like petrol or nutmeg. [15] The species can grow up to 1 m (3.3 ft) in height, [15] [12] [13] although 30 to 70 cm (12 to 28 in) is more common. The stems which branch profusely, are quite thin for the plant's height, have a slight sheath at each junction, [15] and are solid and striated. [12] The fruit are globular, [9] [12] and ridged, [12] being about 3 mm (0.12 in) in diameter when ripe. [15] The stone parsley is a biennial plant, [16] [10] [9] and in Britain it usually flowers between July and August, [9] [15] [12] [13] but sometimes as late as September. [9] Despite its foul odour, the roots, leaves, and seeds of the plant are edible, and have historically been used for food, it has been described as a herb, and the seeds can be used to produce condiments. [10] [8] [17]

Flowers

Stone parsley has tiny white flowers, [9] [12] [15] [13] usually 1 to 2 mm (0.039 to 0.079 in) in size, [9] [15] sometimes up 3 mm (0.12 in) in size, [12] with a green patch in the centre. [13] The flowers grow on long stalks of different lengths, [12] [13] in umbels of between three and six smooth rays, [9] [15] which can grow up to 3 cm (1.2 in), [15] or sometimes 4 cm (1.6 in) [12] wide. The flowers usually have five petals, [12] which are notched, [12] [13] and irregular in shape, [13] five stamen, and two short styles, [12] but do not grow sepals. [12]

Leaves

The plant has pinnate leaves arranged in five to nine pairs of rectangular toothed leaflets, [9] [15] which are often lobed, [9] [15] [13] lanceolate toward the end, [15] [13] and are hairless on widely branched stems. [13] The leaves nearer the bottom of the plant are usually larger than those near the top and can grow from 6 cm (2.4 in) [15] to 20 cm (7.9 in) [12] in length, and are imparipinnate. [12] When they wither the leaves can turn from green to purple before they fall off. [15] The smaller leaflets nearer the top of the plant are attached by short petiole, [15] and are oval to lanceolate and serrate, having teeth with forward curving points. [12] The species has short linear bracts, [9] usually between two and four [9] [12] which emerge from below the umbels, [15] and up to four bracteole. [12]

Distribution and habitat

Map of Europe showing the present distribution of the plant species Sison amomum SisonAmomumRange.jpg
Map of Europe showing the present distribution of the plant species Sison amomum

Stone parsley is found in rough grassland, grassy banks, road verges, beside railways, by hedgerows and hedge banks, on pathways, and on waste ground and disturbed ground, often on heavy soil, [9] [12] [13] especially those rich with lime. [10]

Current range

The species is found mainly within Southern and Western Europe near the Mediterranean Sea, [5] [16] [7] [4] [10] [8] preferring a temperate climate. [7] On Continental Europe Stone parsley is present in Albania, Bulgaria, Romania, Greece and other countries of the Balkans, [7] [4] [5] and is also found in France, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, [16] [7] [5] and a very small presence in Belgium, [16] [5] Germany, and Norway. [5] The plant also appears around the coast of the Black Sea, in Crimea, the Caucasus region, [16] [7] [5] and both European and Asian parts of Turkey, [7] [8] as well as Algeria in North Africa. [7] [18] Sison Amomum also grows on the island of Great Britain, [16] [4] [5] [9] [19] [13] and the Mediterranean islands of Sicily, [7] [5] Corsica, [16] [7] [5] Sardinia, [16] [7] [5] and the Balearic Islands. [7] In Britain it appears mostly in South East England, and in slightly lesser numbers in South West England, the Midlands and South Wales. [16] [5] [9] [19] [13] In North Wales, West Wales, Northern England and the Scottish Borders the plant is also present but is rarer [16] [5] [9] [19] The species has not been reported in northern Scotland and is not present at all on the island of Ireland. [9] [7] [5] [19] Stone parsley is also an introduced species in New Zealand, being more concentrated on the North Island. [5] [20]

Historic range and spread

In the early seventeenth century stone parsley was only recorded in a region of Southern France near the Mediterranean Sea and the Spanish border, by the early eighteenth century it was recorded around the area of Paris, then by the late eighteenth century, it appeared in mid and southern France, in Wales and Northern England. [5] By the mid nineteenth century the plant was detected in greater numbers across much of France and Britain, including Cornwall, and had also had a small presence in Spain, Belgium and Corsica. [5] by the beginning of the twentieth century it had a substantial presence in Italy and a small foothold in Germany, Romania and Sardinia, then by 1950 a small population appeared in Sicily, and the species was also recorded on the other side of the globe on the North Island of New Zealand. [5] By the early twenty-first century the species was recorded as being much more widespread across Britain, France, and New Zealand, increased numbers in Spain Italy, and Sardinia, and had spread to Switzerland, New Zealand's South Island, the Caucasus region near the Black Sea and small numbers in Norway. [5]

Parasites

The larva of some insects are parasites to the stone parsley. [21] Moths which feed on Sison amomum whilst in the larval stage include, Depressaria daucella , Cnephasia incertana , and Epermenia chaerophyllella , the larva of the fly Phytomyza chaerophylli are also parasites of the plant. [21] These insect species are all leaf miner parasites to stone parsley except the Cnephasia incertana moth larva which are hidden parasites, [21] and these insect species can all feed on a range of plants, not just the stone parsley alone.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apiaceae</span> Family of flowering plants

Apiaceae or Umbelliferae is a family of mostly aromatic flowering plants named after the type genus Apium, and commonly known as the celery, carrot or parsley family, or simply as umbellifers. It is the 16th-largest family of flowering plants, with more than 3,800 species in about 446 genera, including such well-known, and economically important plants as ajwain, angelica, anise, asafoetida, caraway, carrot, celery, chervil, coriander, cumin, dill, fennel, lovage, cow parsley, parsley, parsnip and sea holly, as well as silphium, a plant whose exact identity is unclear and may be extinct.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Celery</span> Species of edible plant

Celery is a cultivated plant belonging to the species Apium graveolens in the family Apiaceae that has been used as a vegetable since ancient times. Celery has a long fibrous stalk tapering into leaves. Celery seed powder is used as a spice. Celeriac and leaf celery are different groups of cultivars of Apium graveolens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parsley</span> Species of flowering plant in the celery family Apiaceae cultivated as an herb

Parsley, or garden parsley is a species of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae that is native to Greece, Morocco and the former Yugoslavia. It has been introduced and naturalized in Europe and elsewhere in the world with suitable climates, and is widely cultivated as an herb and a vegetable.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lovage</span> Species of flowering plant

Lovage is a tall perennial plant, the sole species in the genus Levisticum in the family Apiaceae, subfamily Apioideae. It has been long cultivated in Europe and the leaves are used as a herb, the roots as a vegetable, and the seeds as a spice, especially in southern European cuisine. Its flavour and smell are reminiscent both of celery and parsley, only more intense and spicier than either. The seeds can be used in the same way as fennel seeds.

<i>Conium</i> Genus of flowering plants in the celery family Apiaceae

Conium is a genus of flowering plants in the family Apiaceae. As of December 2020, Plants of the World Online accepts six species.

<i>Allium vineale</i> Species of flowering plant

Allium vineale is a perennial, bulb-forming species of wild onion, native to Europe, northwestern Africa and the Middle East. The species was introduced in Australia and North America, where it has become an Invasive species.

<i>Apium graveolens</i> Species of plant

Apium graveolens, known in English as wild celery, is an Old World species of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753.

<i>Apium</i> Genus of flowering plants

Apium is a genus, as currently circumscribed by Plants of the World Online, of 12 species of flowering plants in the family Apiaceae, with an unusual highly disjunct distribution with one species in the temperate Northern Hemisphere in the Western Palaearctic, and the rest in the temperate Southern Hemisphere in southern Africa, southern South America, Australia, and New Zealand. They are prostrate to medium-tall annual, biennial or perennial herbs growing up to 1 m high in wet soil, often marshes and salt marshes, and have pinnate to bipinnate leaves and small white flowers in compound umbels. Some species are edible, notably Apium graveolens, which is the wild ancestor of the commercially important vegetables celery, celeriac and leaf celery.

<i>Smyrnium olusatrum</i> Species of flowering plant

Smyrnium olusatrum, common name alexanders is an edible flowering plant of the family Apiaceae (Umbelliferae), which grows on waste ground and in hedges around the Mediterranean and Atlantic coastal regions of Europe. It was formerly widely grown as a pot herb, but is now appreciated mostly by foragers.

<i>Cornus amomum</i> Species of flowering plant

Cornus amomum, the silky dogwood, is a species of dogwood native to the southern Ontario and eastern United States, from Michigan and Vermont south to Alabama and Florida. Other names include red willow, silky cornel, kinnikinnick, and squawbush.

<i>Sium suave</i> Species of flowering plant

Sium suave, the water parsnip or hemlock waterparsnip, is a perennial wildflower in the family Apiaceae. It is native to many areas of both Asia and North America. The common name water parsnip is due to its similarity to parsnip and its wetland habitat. The alternate common name hemlock waterparsnip is due to its similarity to the highly poisonous spotted water hemlock.

<i>Cnephasia incertana</i> Species of moth

Cnephasia incertana, the light grey tortrix, is a moth of the family Tortricidae. It is found all over Europe.

<i>Aframomum corrorima</i> Species of plant in the family Zingiberaceae

Aframomum corrorima is a species of flowering plant in the ginger family, Zingiberaceae. It is an herbaceous perennial that produces leafy stems 1–2 meters tall from rhizomatous roots. The alternately-arranged leaves are dark green, 10–30 cm long and 2.5–6 cm across, elliptical to oblong in shape. Pink flowers are borne near the ground and give way to red, fleshy fruits containing shiny brown seeds, which are typically 3–5 mm in diameter.

<i>Depressaria daucella</i> Species of moth

Depressaria daucella is a moth of the family Depressariidae. It is found in most of Europe, except most of the Balkan Peninsula. It is also found in North America.

<i>Epermenia chaerophyllella</i> Species of moth

Epermenia chaerophyllella, also known as the garden lance-wing, is a moth of the family Epermeniidae first described by Johann August Ephraim Goeze in 1783. It is found in all of Europe and Asia Minor.

<i>Seseli libanotis</i> Species of plant

Seseli libanotis, also known by the common names moon carrot, mountain stone-parsley, or säfferot, is a species of herb in the genus Seseli of the carrot family, Apiaceae. It is native to Eurasia, throughout which it is widespread.

<i>Oenanthe lachenalii</i> Species of flowering plant

Oenanthe lachenalii, parsley water-dropwort, is a flowering plant in the carrot family, which is native to Europe and parts of North Africa. It is a declining plant of coastal wetlands.

<i>Oenanthe silaifolia</i> Species of flowering plant

Oenanthe silaifolia, narrow-leaved water-dropwort, is a flowering plant in the carrot family, which is native to Europe and adjacent parts of Asia and North Africa. It is an uncommon plant of water-meadows and wetlands.

Stone parsley may refer to several herb flowering plants in the Apiaceae family.

References

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  2. 1 2 3 "Sison L.", Plants of the World Online , Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew , retrieved 2022-12-20
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  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "stone parsley". Merriam-Webster, Inc. 2023-03-16. stone parsley, noun, 1, : a slender herb (Sison amomum) of the family Umbelliferae that is native to Europe and Asia Minor and has aromatic seeds which are used as a condiment. 2, : any plant of the genus Seseli
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 "Stone Parsley - Sison amomum". www.naturespot.org.uk. NatureSpot. 2022-07-15. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 von Mueller, Ferdinand (1891). Select extra-tropical plants readily eligible for industrial culture or naturalisation (8th ed., rev. and enl. ed.). Melbourne, Australia: C. Troedel and Co. p. 458. Archived from the original on 2023-04-19. Retrieved 2023-03-16. Sison Amomum, Linné. Middle and Southern Europe. An herb of one or two years' duration. It grows on soil rich with lime. The seeds can be used as condiment.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  11. 1 2 3 "Open Tree taxonomy: Sison amomum". opentreeoflife.org. Open Tree of Life. 2023-03-14. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 "Stone Parsley". www.seasonalwildflowers.com/. CMS Made Simple. 2023-03-14. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 "Sison Amomum, Stone Parsley". www.uksouthwest.net. UK Southwest. 2023-03-15. Retrieved 2023-03-15.
  14. ↑ "Cryptotaenia japonica". plants.ces.ncsu.edu. North Carolina State University. 2023-03-16. Retrieved 2023-03-16.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 "Stone Parsley, Sison amomum". wildflowerfinder.org.uk. WildFlowerFinder. 2020-05-02. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Sison amomum". eol.org. Encyclopedia of Life. 2013-03-03. Retrieved 2013-03-03.
  17. ↑ Harford, Robin (2023-03-16). "40 Wild Edible Plants in the Carrot Family". www.eatweeds.co.uk. Robin Harford. Retrieved 2023-03-16. Stone Parsley: Sison amomum ABUNDANT – Parts used: Leaves, seed, root
  18. ↑ "Sison amomum". africanplantdatabase.ch. Conservatoire et Jardin botaniques & South African National Biodiversity Institute. 2013-03-15. Retrieved 2013-03-15.
  19. 1 2 3 4 "Sison Amomum Distribution Map". bsbi.org. Botanical Society of Britain & Ireland, 28 Chipchase Grove, Durham, DH1 3FA. 2023-03-14. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  20. ↑ "Sison amomum L." www.nzor.org.nz. New Zealand Organisms Register. 2023-03-15. Retrieved 2023-03-15.
  21. 1 2 3 Dr. Willem N. Ellis (2013-03-15). "Sison amomum, stone parsley". bladmineerders.nl. Dr. Willem N. Ellis, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Retrieved 2013-03-15.
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