Cows Parsley / Spring / Summer / Edible

Common names

Cows Parsley, Wild Chervil, Mother die

Botanical Name

Anthriscus Sylvestris 

Scientific Classification

Kingdom – Plantae

Order – Apiales 

Family – Apiaceae

Physical Characteristics

Leaves

Starting off as a rosette of long stems that are celery shaped with small hairs going up to opposite pairs of feather-like leaves. As it matures it sends up a rounded, ribbed and hairy main stem. 

Stems

The stems never have purple spots but can have purple blocks of colour usually starting from the base. These purple colourations fade into an ombre effect and don’t look like blotches or birthmarks. The stems are very celery like and have a ridge/ groove running up the centre of them.

Flowers

The flowers grow in umbels, this looks like the spokes of an umbrella branching out from the tall stem with a cluster of flowers at the end of each spoke. The flowers are small with a creamy centre and 5 unevenly sized petals (a bit like a flower a child would draw).

Seeds

The seeds are in place of each flower head so are clustered in the same umbel shape.  Each seed is a long tear drop shape and they’re in pairs so it looks a bit like a deer footprint.

Root

Smell & Taste

This plant has a faint parsley-like smell especially when crushed, the leaves and stem have a parsley-like flavour and the flowers and seeds having a carroty flavour.

Video

Habitat

Found in most of Europe, including Britain, south and east to N. Africa and Siberia. 

Common in hedgerows and verges. 

Known Hazards

Misidentification with Poison Hemlock which is harmful to mammals.

Could be confused with

There’s a couple of deadly toxic plants within this family and as you begin to start foraging they can look quite similar so time must always be taken to learn them all before picking any of them.

Fools parsley (Aethusa cynapium),has much thinner leaves that a little more dill like than parsley like

Poison hemlock (Conium maculatum), Has darker more shiny leaves, and has red blotches all over the stems

Hemlock water dropwort has much more of a coriander type leaf shape and is found growing by streams, the roots of Hemlock Water Dropwort are known as dead man’s fingers as you typically get 5 roots growing together – they look a bit like a bunch of bananas.

Click here to learn more about the Carrot family

Edible Use

The whole of the plant is edible, the leaves, stems and flowers are great in salads or used as a pot herb to flavour soups, pestos and stews etc. The seeds are great ground and added to curries or rice to flavour. The roots can also be cooked like a carrot. 

Notes on Herbal Uses

Cow parsley was used in traditional medicines and is said to help treat various ailments, such as stomach and kidney problems, breathing difficulties and colds. It has always been used as mosquito repellent. The roots can be made into a tonic to help weakness.

Extra notes from the Foragers

The stems throughout history have been used by children as pea shooters. 
It is said that it is unlucky to have cow parsley inside the house and that it is the harbinger of death. 

The common name,’ Mother die’ or ‘Mummy die’, was used to frighten children into thinking that if they picked cow parsley, their mother would die. This was intended to deter children from potentially picking deadly Hemlock.

Be careful when harvesting Cow Parsley as it can grow in the same habitat as Poison Hemlock and sometimes growing together  – so be sure to check every stem you pick for the celery shaped hairy stem that has no spots.