Marsh Parsley

 

Marsh Parsley is so wispy that in this photo it is hard to see against a backdrop of pine straw.

It isn't the best photo, but the spot where the specimen emerged was recently landscaped meaning the seed for this plant came likely in with the Gardenia.

An up close look makes this plant look like Dill or A carrot that is in the late stage of it's life.

 

 

Common Name: Marsh Parsley

 

Other Common Names: Fir-Leaf Celery, Slender Celery, Wild Celery

 

Botanical Family: Apiaceae (The Carrot Family)

 

Botanical Latin Name: Cyclospermum leptophyllum

 

Description & Habitat:  Marsh Parsley is and summer annual plant that is native to South and Tropical America. It has very finely dissected leaves and its rapid growth will see it forming a freely branching mound about two feet tall. At a glance it resembles a Wild Carrot, but close inspection will reveal that it is lacking certain features exclusive to carrots. This plant is fast growing and will produce multiple generations in a given year making it hard to eradicate if introduced into an ideal area. Several sources of information suggest that it is a undesirable plant for pastures as it may taint the quality of milk. Beyond this a few sources indicate that when grown in soils that are frequently wet or in areas that frequently flood its flavor as a wild herb may be compromised in a way as to make it inedible. Note, this plant was previously known as Apium leptophyllum, A. tennuifolium and Cyclospermum ammi.

 

When & What to Harvest:

The leaves can be harvested as a replacement for parsley in cooking.

 

Poisonous Lookalikes: Other than a possible passing resemblance to Poison Hemlock (Conium maculatum) none known.

 

 

Related Edible Species: A wide selection of the carrot family is safely edible.

 

Recipe: Unfortunately I did not locate any recipes for this one and every source suggests using it like celery or parsley in a purely seasoning role.

 

 

With all that garden goodness covered this is the part of the blog where I have to advertise for the Fayetteville City Market. Now I know you readers probably don’t much like advertisements, but my booth at the City Market helps to cover the costs of running the test garden and literally maintains the Research & Development budget that is used to bring you the information that has made up the backbone of this blog.  In addition to being able to process card payments we now take CashApp payments so your payment options for my product have tripled. With that said; if you want to get some GMO-free, Organic fruit, herbs, flowers and perennials, come on down to the Fayetteville City Market on 325 Maxwell Street in downtown Fayetteville between the Hours of 9:00 am and 1:00 pm on Saturdays. Even in bad weather the market goes on though you might have to look for me under the ‘arches’ of the Transportation Museum’s front entryway.

 

 

For those of you wondering what plants are going to be at the market this weekend here is the list.

 

Summer Vegetable Plants

Tomato – Chocolate Cherry

Tomato – Lemon Boy

Tomato – Black Krim

Tomato – Paul Robeson

Tomato – Cherokee Purple

Tomato – Brandywine, Suddeth’s Strain

 

Pepper – Cayenne

Pepper – Habanero

Pepper – Ghost

 

Herbs (New!)

Bee Balm

Lemon Balm

Oregano

Sweet Genovese Basil

 

Garden Plants

Daylilies

Dahlias

Lamb’s Ear

 

Coming Soon:

American Aloe

Yucca

Cutleaf Coneflower

Spineless Prickly Pear

 

 

How to stay in Contact with Us!

Our group’s online presence has migrated to Nextdoor.com. All you need to keep up with all our activities is to have a Nextdoor account and to look for the ‘Sustainable Neighbors of Fayetteville’ group and ask to join! You don’t have to live in Fayetteville to join us! Feel free to ask all your garden questions of our knowledgeable membership and post your cool garden pictures.

 

Sustainable Neighbors of Fayetteville

 

Also please take a gander at the YouTube version of this blog:

The Videos: Look Here

>Newest videos (2): Arbequina Olives, Leeks (Short video)

 

Meetings are still going on! Our next (unofficial) meeting is May 18^th at the Fayetteville City Market at 325 Franklin Street between 9:00 am and 1:00 pm.