Knowledgebase

What is this plant? #868631

Asked May 15, 2024, 7:49 PM EDT

Found in my garden in Portland. It was in the herb are and I scattered a bunch of miscellaneous seeds there, but nothing that quite looks like this. It survived the winter — I noticed it last year. I assumed it was parsley and have been eating occasional sprigs of it — there is a slight bitterness but not unpleasant, and I have had no ill effects. After I realized it is not parsley, I stopped eating it and did try to pull it up. Very hard to uproot! Pictures are of the leaves, the center stems, and the “stump” left after I pulled up the greenery (my best attempt to uproot/eradicate it.)

Multnomah County Oregon

Expert Response

The plant is probably Queen Anne's Lace, Daucus carota, because the stem is not hollow, and the leaves look more like Queen Anne's lace leaves to me. But, the Queen Anne's lace can look very similar to poison hemlock, Conium maculatum, so I'm glad you stopped eating the leaves! This document provides some useful tips to tell them apart: https://www.dcmga.com/wp-content/uploads/docs/garden-basics-solve/gb-poison-hemlock-wild-carrot.pdf
Sylvan Kaufman Replied May 16, 2024, 3:44 PM EDT

Loading ...