# Wild parsley?



## Cheryl in SD (Apr 22, 2005)

There are several of these plants growing in my yard. They look like parsley. Or the leaves do, the stock is bigger. Can anyone tell me what they are and if the are edible? I would also like a recommendation for a good edible wild plant book with pictures.





































Thanks!


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## fernando (Jan 11, 2005)

Queen Anne's Lace perhaps?


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## Deborah Stephenson (May 10, 2002)

I think you may have *cow parsley (Anthriscus sylvestris)* - it looks exactly like the plants we have all over our garden. They are really beautiful, so I always hate to pull them up, but if you don't, you'll definitely be sorry in a year or two! Please bear in mind that common names are often used to describe completely different plant species - in the UK, they sometimes call this "Queen Anne's Lace" but the same "Queen Anne's Lace" in the USA is *Daucus carota *(wild carrot). They are two different plants! Both resemble poison hemlock as well, so check out these links to be sure...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cow_parsley

http://www.arkive.org/species/ARK/plants_and_algae/Anthriscus_sylvestris/ARK015394.html?offset=0px

http://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/organicweeds/weed_information/weed.php?id=115


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## Ronney (Nov 26, 2004)

You have what we call Carrot Weed or wild carrot which is similar to Queen Anns Lace but quite a different plant as Deborah has already pointed out. 

I have both with Queen Anns Lace being by far the more predominant and I use sheep to control it but spray out both with Tordon otherwise they would take over the farm. As Deborah has suggested, pull out any plants you find or you will be sorry. As far as I know it has no useful purpose and I don't know of anybody who uses it as an edible plant. My sheep will eat it while the plant is in it's first stages of growth but once it matures they won't touch it.

Cheers,
Ronnie


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## sage_morgan (Dec 18, 2005)

As a suggestion, you may want to go ahead and destroy this plant, depending on what you think it is.

But leave one or two, so you can *positively* identify it, which very often can only happen when it puts out flowers. If you have a person around who is sure, that's great. But if you don't and this is left to you, keep one or two for a bit.

If you have one, you have ID. If you have 1,000s, you have a possible weed problem.

And if you let ONE bloom and then pull it and destroy it, you are one weed smarter than you were before.

for what it's worth: Queen Anne's Lace it very very identifiable when it is in bloom and in seed.


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