Water parsnip

Last updated July 27, 2019

Water parsnip is a common name given to a number of flowering plants in the family Apiaceae, including those from the Berula and Sium genera.

The flowering plants, also known as angiosperms, Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants, with 64 orders, 416 families, approximately 13,000 known genera and 300,000 known species. Like gymnosperms, angiosperms are seed-producing plants. However, they are distinguished from gymnosperms by characteristics including flowers, endosperm within the seeds, and the production of fruits that contain the seeds. Etymologically, angiosperm means a plant that produces seeds within an enclosure; in other words, a fruiting plant. The term comes from the Greek words angeion and sperma ("seed").

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 3,700 species in 434 genera including such well-known and economically important plants such as ajwain, angelica, anise, asafoetida, caraway, carrot, celery, chervil, coriander, cumin, dill, fennel, poison hemlock, lovage, cow parsley, parsley, parsnip and sea holly, as well as silphium, a plant whose identity is unclear and which may be extinct.

Berula is a cosmopolitan genus of flowering plants in the carrot family, whose species are known as water parsnips, as are some other plants in Apiaceae such as Sium latifolium and Sium suave. It is easily confused with the highly toxic water hemlock.

Berula

Berula erecta , cutleaf water parsnip or water parsnip

Berula erecta, known as lesser water-parsnip or cutleaf waterparsnip or narrow-leaved water-parsnip, is a member of the carrot family. Growing to around 1 m (3 ft) tall, it is found in or by water. It is widespread across much of Europe, Asia, Australia, and North America.

Sium

Sium latifolium , greater water parsnip, or water parsnip
Sium suave , or water parsnip

Sium latifolium is a species of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae known by the common names great water-parsnip, greater water-parsnip, and wideleaf waterparsnip. It is native to much of Europe, Kazakhstan, and Siberia.

Sium suave 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 spotted water hemlock.

This page is an index of articles on plant species (or higher taxonomic groups) with the same common name (vernacular name). If an internal link led you here, you may wish to edit the linking article so that it links directly to the intended article.

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