Sium latifolium

Sium latifolium is a species of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae known by the common names great water-parsnip, greater water-parsnip,[1] and wideleaf waterparsnip.[2] It is native to much of Europe, Kazakhstan, and Siberia.[1]

Sium latifolium
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Apiales
Family: Apiaceae
Genus: Sium
Species:
S. latifolium
Binomial name
Sium latifolium

This plant grows in wet habitat such as swamps and lakeshores, sometimes in the water. It is a perennial herb with a hollow, grooved stem up to 2 meters tall. The herbage is green and hairless. The leaves are up to 30 centimeters long with blades borne on hollow petioles that clasp the stem at their bases. The inflorescence is an umbel of white flowers.[3]

When eaten by dairy cows, the plant tends to imbue their milk with an unpleasant taste.[3]

Toxicity/edibility

The rootstock is acrid and poisonous, but the leaves have been cooked and eaten as a vegetable in Italy and the ripe seeds - which are aromatic due to their limonene content - have been used (in small quantities) as a spice or seasoning in Scandinavian cuisine.[4]

References
  1. "Sium latifolium". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 12 January 2018.
  2. Sium latifolium. USDA PLANTS.
  3. Forbes, R. Sium latifolium – greater water-parsnip. Northern Ireland Priority Species. National Museums Northern Ireland.
  4. Sturtevant, E.L. Sturtevant's Notes on Edible Plants, pub. J.P. Lyon Company Albany 1919 for State of New York Dept of Agriculture, reissued ed. U.P Hedrick as Sturtevant's Edible Plants by Dover Publications, inc. New York 1972.
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