Parsley (8)
Flowers in the Parsley family have tiny flowers with five petals which usually grow in a cluster in which stalks of nearly equal length grow from a common center and form a flat or curved surface, The leaves are usually divided. There are many more members of this family including Angelica, Sweet Cicely and Spring Parsley.
Cow Parsnip
Heracleum maximum (H. lanatum, H. sphondylium)
Family:
Parsley (Apiaceae)
AKA:
Indian Celery
Photo taken on:
July 7, 2004
Location:
Almont, CO
Life Zones:
Foothills to montane
Habitat:
Wet soil
Plant can grow to 8ft tall with a stout
hairy stem. Flower clusters are up to 8" across. Leaves are large and solid compared to Lovage and
Water Hemlock, both of which have dissected
leaves.
Family:
Parsley (Apiaceae)
AKA:
Fendler's Cowbane
Photo taken on:
July 22, 2014
Location:
Poverty Gulch, GV, CO
Life Zones:
Montane to subalpine
Habitat:
Wet soil
Plant can grow to 3 feet high with a weak stem. Flowers clusters are up to 2" across. Leaves are divided and soft. Grows at higher elevations and leaves differentiate from Cutleaf Waterparsnip in the same habitat. Brookcress also grows in the same habitat but is more robust and has larger flowers.
Cutleaf Waterparsnip
Berula erecta
Family:
Parsley (Apiaceae)
AKA:
Water Parsnip
Photo taken on:
October 13, 2010
Location:
White Rock Canyon, NM
Life Zones:
Plains to foothills
Habitat:
Streams, marshes
Grows in water to 3 feet with weak stems leaning on other plants. Leaves are pinnately divided with toothed leaflets that are narrow if submerged, more oval if not. Tiny white flowers grow in umbels with leaf-like bracts. Grows at lower elevations and leaves differentiate from Cowbane in same habitat.
Family:
Parsley (Apiaceae)
AKA:
Osha, Porter's Lovage
Photo taken on:
July 11, 2004
Location:
Oh-Be-Joyful, GV, CO
Life Zones:
Montane to subalpine
Habitat:
Moist woods, meadows
Grows to 3 feet tall in large colonies. Leaves are fern-like. Often confused with Cow Parsnip; the leaves differentiate between them.
Water Hemlock
Cicuta maculata (C. douglasii)
Family:
Parsley (Apiaceae)
AKA:
Spotted Water Hemlock, Spotted Cowbane
Photo taken on:
June 18, 2020
Location:
Rio Chama, Abiquiu, NM
Life Zones:
Plains to montane
Habitat:
Wet soil, ditches, marshes
Grows from 2 to 6 feet tall with stout, hollow stems. The stem is smooth with brown or purple streaks. Leaves are divided into long leaflets which are divided again into toothed lance-shaped leaflets which tend to fold inward. The stalk of the leaf forms a sheath around the stem. Distinguishing features are the prominent veins in the leaflets that end in the notches between the teeth and the purplish spots at the base of the stem where it meets the ground. Flower clusters are 3" to 6" across. Compare to Cow Parsnip, Hemlock Waterparsnip and Lovage which are not poisonous, leaves differentiate the species. All parts of the plant are toxic.
Extremely POISONOUS.
"The most poisonous plant in North America"
Hemlock Waterparsnip
Sium suave
Family:
Parsley (Apiaceae)
AKA:
Water Parsnip
Photo taken on:
July 12, 2017
Location:
Russell Lakes State Wildlife Area, SLV, CO
Life Zones:
Plains to montane
Habitat:
Wet soil, ditches, marshes
Closely resembles the extremely poisonous Water Hemlock in the same habitat . The leaves differentiate. It grows to 6 feet tall above the water with few branches, the stem is veined but is not spotted. The leaves above water are divided into an odd number of finely toothed leaflets which do not have the strong veins of Water Hemlock.
Rocky Mountain Hemlock Parsley
Conioselinum scopulorum
Family:
Parsley (Apiaceae)
AKA:
Hemlock Parsley, Rock Lovage
Photo taken on:
August 1, 2021
Location:
Roaring Judy Fish Hatchery, GV, CO
Life Zones:
Foothills to alpine
Habitat:
Moist woodlands, meadows
At first glance this looks like Cowbane or a delicate Lovage. The leaves differentiate. It grows from 1 to 4 feet tall with unbranched stems and fern-like leaves divided into finely cut, coarsely toothed leaflets. The base of the stem leaves is enclosed in a sheath. Flowers sometimes have pink buds. Long pointed bractlets extend beyond the flowers.