# Wild Parsnip



## Hillside (Jul 12, 2004)

I got tangled up in some wild parsnip the other day. The blisters are nasty.

Does this stuff have any redeeming value? Can the bees make honey from it?


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## George Fergusson (May 19, 2005)

Geez Hillside. I'm not sure if your wild parsnip is the same as our wild parsnip but it sounds about right. I've heard that they can raise blisters in conjunction with exposure to sunlight, but it's never happened to me. I don't think bees forage on it. I'll have to watch.

Here's a pretty good site with information about wild parsnip:

http://www.wnrmag.com/stories/1999/jun99/parsnip.htm


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## kenr (Sep 25, 2005)

I know that my bees go crazy over tame parsnip blooms don't know about wild!


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

What is wild parsnip? Is it poison hemlock?


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## Hillside (Jul 12, 2004)

Pastinaca sativa

A wild cousin to the cultivated parsnip. The sap can cause blistering of the skin when exposed to strong sunlight. See George's link.

This is a reletively new invasive plant in my area. I hadn't really run into it before, but now I'm going to be more careful. The blisters appear worse then they feel. There isn't too much pain and the itching isn't as bad as poison ivy, but it looks really ugly. All in all, I'd rather avoid it.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

The description and the pictures sound like what people here call poison hemolock.


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## Hillside (Jul 12, 2004)

My understanding of poison hemlock is Conium maculatum, but apparently it's in the same parsnip family. The hazard is not skin damage but poisoning by injestion. It's not something we see much of around here. Of course the one I got into wasn't something we see a lot around here either -- until the last few years anyway.

I hope to not have an experience with either in the future.

Dealing with common names is a pain since they vary so much by location. Dealing with botanical names is a pain since half the time they're so complicated.

Oh. I should point out that one of the pollination web sites that I found mentions that wild parsip is indeed a honey plant. I'll take sweet clover any day.

[ July 01, 2006, 04:28 PM: Message edited by: Hillside ]


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

You are correct on the name. It has the same "carrot" leaves and the same white umbrule flowers.


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## GaSteve (Apr 28, 2004)

>I know that my bees go crazy over tame parsnip blooms

I go crazy over the roots. Mighty tasty.


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