Sium suave - Hemlock Water-parsnip
Family: APIACEAE (Umbelliferae) - Carrot [E-flora]
(Wikimedia)1
(Wikimedia)2
(Wikimedia)3
Image References
- 1, Sium suave var, nipponicum, I, KENPEI, CC BY-SA 3.0
- 2, Sium suave var, nipponicum, Qwert1234, CC BY-SA 4.0
- 3, Sium suave var, nipponicum, Qwert1234, CC BY-SA 4.0
"Sium suave is a PERENNIAL growing to 1.2 m (4ft). See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 4. It is in flower from July to August, and the seeds ripen from September to October. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) and is pollinated by Insects. The plant is self-fertile. Suitable for: light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers moist or wet soil." [PFAF]
General: "Terrestrial to semi-aquatic perennial herb from a very short, erect stem-base (not chambered) with fibrous roots that sometimes are tuberous-thickened; stems solitary, 0.5-1.2 m tall, stout, hollow, strongly ridged, generally branched above." [IFBC-E-flora]Leaves: "Stem leaves pinnately compound; leaf stalks with sheathing bases, blades 2-9 cm long, 1.5-10 (20) mm wide, divided into 7-15 leaflets that are lance-shaped to linear and toothed; submerged leaves much more finely divided; primary lateral veins of the leaflets not directed towards the base of the teeth." [IFBC-E-flora]
Flowers: "Inflorescence of compound umbels; flowers white, small; calyx teeth minute or obsolete; involucel bractlets 6-10, narrow, reflexed." [IFBC-E-flora]
Fruits: "Oval to elliptic, 2-3 mm long, prominently ribbed." [IFBC-E-flora]
Habitat / Range
"Wet streamsides, swamps, marshes, lake and pond shores in the lowland and montane zones; common throughout BC except Queen
Charlotte Islands and adjacent coast; N to AK, YT and NT, E to NF and S to FL, VA, KS and CA." [IFBC-E-flora]
Origin Status: Native [E-flora]
Hazards
"The stems and leaves of this plant are toxic and will kill livestock 212. There is no conclusive proof of this, based on native North American Indian usage it is likely that the roots and stems are edible, though the flowering tops might be poisonous 256." [PFAF]
"Water-parsnip is very similar in form and habitat to water-hemlock (Cicuta spp.), which is generally considered to be the most poisonous wild plant genus in North America (Kingbury, 1964). Both plants at maturity produce white flowers in umbrella-like clusters, and both grow in swampy ground at the edges of lakes and ponds. Whereas water-parsnip has leaves which are once-compound, water-hemlock leaves are three times compound. Water-hemlock also has a distinctive turnip-like swelling at the base of the stem, which is usually chambered when cut open vertically, and exudes a yellowish liquid along the cut surface. Nevertheless, the two plants closely resemble each other.If there is any doubt at all in the identification of water-parsnip, it should be left strictly alone. Water-parsnip itself has been implicated in cases of livestock poisoning, although Kingbury (1964) notes that the cases are not entirely convincing. The mature stems and flowering tops of water-parsnip should never be eaten (Turner and Szczawinski, 1991)." [Turner&Kuhnlein]
Edible Uses
Roots
"Raw or cooked 257. Crisp and delicious 257, it has an agreeable nutty flavour 61, 105, 183. The root is considered to be edible in the spring and the autumn but it so closely resembles some very poisonous plants that it should be considered unsafe to eat 212, 257. The aromatic leaves are used as a relish 61, 105, 183, 257. Some caution is advised - see the notes above on toxicity 212." [PFAF]
"The fleshy, finger-like roots are sweet and carrot-flavored. They were eaten by many Indigenous Peoples of British Columbia, including the Halkomelem, Nuxalk (Bella Coola), Shuswap, Lillooet, Nlaka'pamux, Okanagan-Colville, and Kootenay, as well as by the Algonquin, Cree, and probably by the Slave and other northern Athapaskan groups (Turner, 1975, 1978; Black, 1980; Turner et al., 1980; Turner et al. unpubl. notes, 1987; Turner et al., 1990). Honigmann (1949) noted that the Kaska of northern British Columbia and the Yukon sometimes dug "a parsnip-like tuber," probably this root. The Woods Cree of east-central Saskatchewan believed only the roots from the Churchill River were edible, and that elsewhere they were poisonous (Leighton, 1985).
The roots were generally dug in spring and summer, before flowering, or in the fall. They were eaten raw, fried, steamed, roasted, or pit-cooked, and were generally very well liked, although people had
to be extremely careful not to confuse them with the roots of the toxic water-hemlock. The Katzie Halkomelem of the Fraser Valley reportedly ate the young stems as well as the roots (Suttles, 1955), but some
Shuswap people considered the flowers to be poisonous (Palmer, 1975). Water-parsnip is little used at present." [Turner&Kuhnlein]
Young Stems
The Katzie Halkomelem of the Fraser Valley reportedlyate the young stems as well as the roots, but some Shuswap peopleconsidered the flowers to be poisonous.
Medicinal Uses
Root
- "An infusion of the crushed root has been used as a poultice to bring relief from the pain of a broken limb 257." [PFAF]
- "A decoction of the roots has been used by women in the treatment of epilepsy 257." [PFAF]
"Sium.—Sium cicutaefolium Schrank( fam. Umbelliferae), which grows in British America and the United States, particularly along the water courses of the valleys of the Pacific slope, and is the hemlock water parsnip of this country, is positively asserted to be poisonous. A. R. Porter and N. Rogers (A. J. P., 1876, 348, 483) found in it an active resinous body, toxic to animals. Oil of Sium cicutaefolium is stated by Rabak to be found in the plant in the proportion of 0.5 per cent. It is yellow and has an odor resembling that of caraway. (Mid. Druggist, 1905, 5.) S. Sisarum L., or skirret, a plant of Chinese origin, cultivated in Europe, has a sweetish, somewhat aromatic root. The latter is used in much the same manner as the oyster plant and parsnip. It is supposed to be a useful diet in chest complaints." [Remington USD20]
Lore
"The seeds of this species were smoked by the Flambeau Ojibwa of North America. They believed that it could drive away and blind the evil spirit Sokênau, who it was claimed could steal one’s hunting luck (Smith 1932)." [UAPDS]
Propagation
"Seed - sow late winter to early spring in a cold frame. The seed can be slow to germinate[200]. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and plant them out in the summer if they are large enough. Otherwise, grow them on in a cold frame for their first winter and plant them out in the following spring. Division in early spring just before new growth begins. Use the side roots[1]. Larger divisions can be planted out direct into their permanent positions. We have found it best to pot up the smaller divisions and grow them on in a lightly shaded position in a cold frame, planting them out once they are well established in the summer." [PFAF]Cultivation
"Prefers a light, rich, moisture retentive soil in full sun[200]." [PFAF]
Synonyms
Sium cicutifolium Schrank
Sium floridanum Small
Sium suave var. floridanum (Small) C.F. Reed
References
- Sium suave, http://linnet.geog.ubc.ca/Atlas/Atlas.aspx?sciname=Sium%20suave&redblue=Both&lifeform=7 [Accessed: May 3, 2015]
- Sium suave, http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Sium+suave, Accessed May 3, 2015, April 27, 2026
Sium Sp.
"Perennial herb, glabrous; roots clustered, fibrous or ± tuberous. Stem: erect or ascending, branched. Leaf: blade oblong to ovate, 1-pinnate, occasionally 2-pinnate when submerged, leaflets distinct, serrate, irregularly cut to pinnately lobed. Inflorescence: umbels compound, generally opposite a leaf; bracts, bractlets leaf-like, generally reflexed, conspicuous; rays, pedicels many, spreading-ascending. Flower: occasionally ± bilateral; calyx lobes 0 or minute; petals wide, white, narrowed at tips, outer ± > others. Fruit: ovate to round, ± compressed side-to-side; ribs prominent, ± equal, corky; oil tubes 1–3 per rib-interval; fruit axis entire or divided to base, adhering to fruit halves or not. Seed: face flat.
2n=12.
± 10 species: North America, Eurasia, Africa. (Greek: for an aquatic member of family)" [Jepson]
Local Species;
- Sium suave - Hemlock water-parsnip [E-flora]
Uses of Other Species
Sium nodiflorum Aerial part (ethylether, ethylacetate, butanol) antimicrobial against Fungi [29] [ModPhyt]
References
- [Jepson] 2013. Sium, in Jepson Flora Project (eds.) Jepson eFlora, http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_IJM.pl?tid=10223, accessed on Jan 28 2015