Parsley

Petroselinum crispum (Miller) Nyman ex A.W. Hill

Synonyms - Petroselinum sativum, Carum petroselinum, Apium crispum.

Order - Apiales

Family - Apiaceae or Umbelliferae

Names:

Petroselinum is from the Greek petra meaning rock and selinon meaning an umbelliferous plant.

Crispum

Parsley

Summary:

An aromatic herb with a stout taproot.

Description:

Cotyledons:

Two.

Leaves:

Much divided.

Stipules -

Petiole - Yes.

Blade - Aromatic, triangular in outline, divided twice with the segments on small stalks. Segments egg shaped, lobed, often curled. Hairless.

Stems:

Erect, striped, aromatic. Hairless.

Flower head:

Umbels on long stalks(peduncles) with 8-20 branches(rays). Short parallel sided bracts under a cluster of many flowers.

Flowers:

Ovary -

Sepals - None.

Petals - Broad with an incurved tip, greenish yellow.

Stamens -

Anthers -

Fruit:

Egg shaped, flattened, smooth, hairless. Fruitlets with 5 fine ribs.

1 vitta under each furrow.

Carpophore free, forked, persistent.

Seeds:

Small.

Roots:

Stout taproot.

Key Characters:

Land plant.

Leaves twice pinnatisect, petiolate.

Involucre bracts present.

Flowers greenish yellow, in compound umbels.

Vittas present.

Fruit without prickles.

Fruitlets 5 ribbed.

Seed flat along the commissure.

From J.M. Black.

Biology:

Life cycle:

Biennial.

Physiology:

Reproduction:

By seed.

Flowering times:

Summer in SA.

Seed Biology and Germination:

Vegetative Propagules:

None.

Hybrids:

Cultivated and wild forms.

Allelopathy:

Population Dynamics and Dispersal:

Spread mainly by intentional planting of seed.

Origin and History:

Mediterranean. Southern Europe.

Distribution:

NSW, SA, TAS, VIC, WA.

Habitats:

Climate:

Temperate. Mediterranean.

Soil:

Prefers sandy, limestone soils.

Plant Associations:

Significance:

Beneficial:

Leaves used as a salad vegetable and garnish. Occasionally roots are also used.

Detrimental:

Weed of roadsides, islands, coastal dunes and disturbed areas.

Toxicity:

Not recorded as toxic.

Legislation:

None.

Management and Control:

Thresholds:

Eradication strategies:

Herbicide resistance:

Biological Control:

Related plants:

Celery (Apium graveolens)

Plants of similar appearance:

References:

Black, J.M. (1965). Flora of South Australia. (Government Printer, Adelaide, South Australia). P662. Diagram.

Hussey, B.M.J., Keighery, G.J., Cousens, R.D., Dodd, J. and Lloyd, S.G. (1997). Western Weeds. A guide to the weeds of Western Australia. (Plant Protection Society of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia). P84.

Lazarides, M. and Hince, B. (1993). CSIRO handbook of economic plants of Australia. (CSIRO, Melbourne). #958.1.

Acknowledgments:

Collated by HerbiGuide. Phone 08 98444064 or www.herbiguide.com.au for more information.