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Sium latifolium

Common name:	Water Parsnip	Family:	Umbelliferae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	17, 200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	The entire plant, and especially the root, is poisonous[4, 74]. There is no firm proof of this[76].
Range:	Most of Europe, including Britain, excluding the northwest, Portugal, Greece and Turkey.
Habitat:	Fens and other wet places, often in water, avoiding acid conditions[17].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	1	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	0

Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Greater Water-parsnip [L], Grote Watereppe [D], Parsnip,Water [E], Water Parsnip [H], Wideleaf Waterparsnip [P],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	latifolium = broad leaved;
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Apiales. Renamed to Apiaceae -- Carrot family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Europe

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 2m. It is hardy to zone 6 and is not frost tender. It is in flower from July to August. The scented flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Beetles, flies and bees. The plant is self-fertile. We rate it 1/5 for edibility and 0/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires wet soil and can grow in water.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Pond, Bog Garden.

Edible Uses

Leaves.

Leaves - cooked[2, 105]. Some caution is advised, see the notes above on toxicity.

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

None known

Other Uses

Essential.

An essential oil is obtained from the seed[74].

Cultivation details

Prefers a light, rich, moisture retentive soil in full sun[200]. A plant of wet ground and shallow water, it grows best in about 20cm of water[56].

Propagation

Seed - sow late winter to early spring in a cold frame. The seed can be slow to germinate[200]. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and plant them out in the summer if they are large enough. Otherwise, grow them on in a cold frame for their first winter and plant them out in the following spring.
Division in early spring just before new growth begins. Use the side roots[1]. Larger divisions can be planted out direct into their permanent positions. We have found it best to pot up the smaller divisions and grow them on in a lightly shaded position in a cold frame, planting them out once they are well established in the summer.

Scent

Seed:: No details on scent.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.

[56] Muhlberg. H. Complete Guide to Water Plants. E. P. Publishing Ltd. 1982 ISBN 0-7158-0789-7
Deals with a wide range of plants for temperate areas (and indoor aquaria) with quite a lot of information on cultivation techniques.

[74] Komarov. V. L. Flora of the USSR. Israel Program for Scientific Translation 1968
An immense (25 or more large volumes) and not yet completed translation of the Russian flora. Full of information on plant uses and habitats but heavy going for casual readers.

[76] Cooper. M. and Johnson. A. Poisonous Plants in Britain and their Effects on Animals and Man. HMSO 1984 ISBN 0112425291
Concentrates mainly on the effects of poisonous plants to livestock.

[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[245] Genders. R. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale. London. 1994 ISBN 0-7090-5440-8
An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.

Readers Comments

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Bibliography

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963

This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Sium+latifolium
This page (US) http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Sium+latifolium

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We make no claims of magical effects or supernatural powers for any item in this catalog. In spite of legendary attributes or occult and craft tradition, such items are offered as curios only and beliefs concerning their magical effectiveness are related only for historical interest.