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On Tue, 20 Dec 2005 17:35:53 +0000, (sarah)
wrote:

>Phil C. > wrote:
>
>> On Mon, 19 Dec 2005 22:18:06 GMT, "graham" > wrote:
>>
>> >I don't recall ever reacting to "Sheep's parsley" as a kid. Until these
>> >posts, I didn't know of these complaints/reactions and the Umbellifera are
>> >such an important source of food, herbs and spices.
>>
>> As I recall, water parsley is deadly poisonous and hemlock is also one
>> of the family. Don't try this at home. I wonder if our distant
>> ancestors had to treat parsnips to detoxify them and gradually bred
>> the poisons out. Perhaps they were used for "medicinal" properties
>> before they became ordinary vegetables. But then all sorts of foods
>> are poisonous if we eat enough, don't prepare them properly or are
>> unlucky enough to be susceptible. Some beans are well known for
>> containing arsenic and even potatoes are poisonous if we eat an
>> unfeasibly large amount. Others may know more.
>
>I have some books on the topic, and if I spend any longer working on
>*that* document I'll be quite, quite mad...
>
> **NOTE: READ AT YOUR OWN RISK. I AM NOT ADVISING ANYONE TO TRY ANY OF
>THIS. ANY PLANT CAN BE HARMFUL WHEN INGESTED. Some EXTREMELY POISONOUS
>plants (such as Fool's Parsley) can be easily confused with the
>following interesting plants**
(snip)
I should have written "water parsnip", though wild plants are prone to
a variety of confusing names. I'd tend to treat umbellifera like fungi
- best avoided unless one is really sure. Even hemlock looks much like
the others.

We get no shortage of keck (cow parsley) growing in the lawn. It's a
nuisance but when I mow it, it produces a lovely/horrible (delete as
appropriate) coriander smell.
--
Phil C.