Short Description
The fool's parsley can grow up to one metre high.
The leaves are arranged singly and alternately on the stem (alternate). The single leaf is divided into two or three parts (pinnate). The leaf surface is shiny. When crushed, the leaves smell unpleasantly spicy.
The stem is round, often dark red with a bluish tinge.
The small, white flowers stand together in umbrella-like branches (umbels), which in turn also stand together in umbrella-like branches (double umbels).
The fruit is a two-part schizocarp.
Features
Fool's parsley
Aethusa cynapium
highly poisonous
white flowers
crushed leaves smell unpleasant
Similar species
Garden parsley
Petroselinum crispum
In the city
In the city, the fool's parsley is common on rubble tips and in urban gardens. It prefers warm locations with nutrient-rich soils.
Fun Facts
The flowering period is from June to September.
Fool's parsley is an annual to perennial plant. It lives for one to two years, but flowers only once and dies after the seeds have matured.
- Endangerment level Germany: not endangered
The whole plant is highly poisonous.
Sources
Habitus, Meneerke bloem, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aethusa_cynapium02.jpg
Blütenstand, SKas, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aethusa_cynapium_in_Caucasus.jpg
Blütenstand, H. Zell, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aethusa_cynapium_002.JPG
Eggenberg, S. & Möhl, A. (2007) Flora Vegetativa: Ein Bestimmungsbuch für Pflanzen der Schweiz im blütenlosen Zustand, Bern, Stuttgart, Wien: Haupt Verlag.
Jäger, E. J. (2011) Rothmaler - Exkursionsflora von Deutschland. Gefäßpflanzen: Grundband, Heidelberg: Spektrum Akademischer Verlag.
Kammer, P. M. (2016) Pflanzen einfach bestimmen. Schritt für Schritt einheimische Arten kennenlernen, Bern: Haupt Verlag.
Page „Hundspetersilie“. : Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Date of last revision: 05.01.2017, 21:05 UTC. URL: https://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hundspetersilie&oldid=161332552 (Accessed:15.08.2017).