I have been noticing a lot of water parsnip and poison hemlock flowering in wetlands over the past few weeks. These large clusters of small white flowers in a candelabra-like arrangement are easily identified as members of the Apiaceae or carrot family, sometimes also known as the parsley family.
Some of you older listeners may have learned this plant family as the Umbelliferae, which is a reference to them producing their flowers in an umbel. An umbel is a flower cluster or inflorescence that has lots of short flower stalks that spread out from the main stalk. An umbel has been compared to umbrella ribs pointing upward and outward forming a flat-topped cluster of flowers.
The Apiaceae contains around 3-4,000 species, 27 of which can be found in North Dakota. They occupy a wide variety of habitats, for example water parsnip and poison hemlock in wetlands, snake root and sweet cicely in the woodlands, and meadow parsnip on the prairies. It is important to note that some of these species are escaped garden plants such as wild carrot (Queen Anne’s lace), dill, and caraway.
It might surprise you, but this is a culturally and economically important plant family. Some of the more important members of the plant family are widely used food items as well as herbs and spices, including anise, caraway, carrot, cilantro, coriander, cumin, dill, fennel, parsley, and parsnip. Poison hemlock, a North Dakota native is also in this group, and is of course associated with the poisoning of Socrates.
Members of the Apiaceae are mainly annual, biennial, or perennial herbs. In addition to producing their flowers in umbels, characteristics of this plant family also include hollow stems, and leaf stalks that are typically sheathing, with alternate leaves that are pinnately or palmately compound. Flowers are generally white or yellow and small, with both male and female reproductive parts, and five distinct petals above an inferior ovary.
About that Queen Anne’s lace or escaped carrot. Have you ever seen a carrot flower? It is a biennial. The energy goes into the carrot root the first year. If the carrot is not harvested, the second year it will produce flowers, set seed, and die. That is the way it has spread to waste places, road ditches, and he like. So the next time you see some Queen Anne’s lace, give thanks to those poorly attended or abandoned gardens.
~Chuck Lura
