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Down the Garden Path: The confusing carrot family · Kendall County News - Shaw Local

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  Down the garden path, the confusing carrot family. Written by Jamie Vbach,
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  University of Illinois Extension. This article is being read by an automated
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  voice, brought to you by Everlit. Every family is full of characters,
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  the fun one, the pretty one, the difficult one, etcetera. The Umbelifer
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  family has that too. While carrots are the life of the party,
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  sweet, crunchy, and great with ranch, other members like Poison Hemlock are
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  better appreciated from a distance. Who are the Appiacii? Members of the
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  Umbelifer or Apeaceae Apeaceae family have large umbrella shaped or umble flower
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  clusters. The leaves are frequently fragrant when crushed, and often somewhat or
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  very lacy in appearance. But the umbrella shaped flower is what sets
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  this family apart. In addition to carota members include such culinary staples
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  as celery, parsnip, dill, cumin, and parsley. It also includes poisonous members
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  like giant hogweed, poison hemlock, and cow parsnip. Queen Anne's lace versus
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  poison hemlock Queen Anne's lace Dachus corota is a common weed often
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  seen on roadsides and other wild spaces. Also called wild carrot, it
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  has a dense—to flat-topped white flower cluster that sometimes, but not always,
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  has a small reddish flower in the center. The stem is also
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  solid green and hairy. In contrast, poison hemlock has a flower cluster
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  that is less dense. To me, it looks more like a loose
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  group of smaller clusters, as opposed to one big cluster. This umble
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  is also more rounded. One of the most striking differences is the
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  red splotches on the stem. Other notable family members Cow parsnip closely
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  resembles hemlock but has yellow flowers. Yarrow is a common ornamental plant
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  that occasionally escapes into the landscape. It's much shorter than the rest
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  and has very fine lacy leaves. Giant hogweed, by comparison is considered
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  invasive and can grow up to 15 feet tall. While giant hogweed
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  is known in Illinois, there are very few populations and those are
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  being managed. Caution. Some members of this family, like cow parsnip and
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  hogweed, contain compounds that are phytotoxic. This means that if you touch
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  this plant and are then exposed to sunlight, it can cause a
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  chemical burn. Care should be taken when removing these plants from your
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  yard or restoration sites. Always wear gloves and long sleeves. Allergies to
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  these plants also exist, so while some people can touch wild carrot
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  or poison hemlock with no ill effects, others may develop contact dermatitis.
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  Some members of this family are also poisonous. Poison hemlock, for example,
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  has been the cause of many poisonings when foragers mistake it for
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  wild carrot or parsley. Never consume a plant unless it has been
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  positively identified with several field marks. Apps and other AI tools should
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  never be trusted to give accurate information about the identification and edibility
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  of wild plants. For more information on the Carrot family, check out
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  this blog post. Also, check out the University of Illinois Extension Horticulture
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  YouTube channel for videos on tree care and other horticulture topics. Jamie
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  Vbach is the University of Illinois Extension Horticulture Educator serving DuPage, Kane,
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  and Kendall counties. Vbach's primary areas of expertise are native plants, landscaping,
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  pollinators, and rain gardens.