{"id":13662,"date":"2020-04-17T16:51:04","date_gmt":"2020-04-17T15:51:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/?p=13662"},"modified":"2023-07-12T10:31:26","modified_gmt":"2023-07-12T09:31:26","slug":"cows-parsley-or-poison-hemlock-whats-the-difference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/2020\/04\/17\/cows-parsley-or-poison-hemlock-whats-the-difference\/","title":{"rendered":"Cows Parsley or Poison Hemlock &#8211; What&#8217;s the difference?"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n<p>Is Cows Parsley Toxic or can it be confused with any toxic or poisonous plants? well let&#8217;s take a low at Cows Parsley or Poison Hemlock &#8211; What&#8217;s the difference?\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-13662 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-medium'><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/2021\/04\/15\/identify-wild-carrot\/hemlock\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Hemlock-300x300.png\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Hemlock-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Hemlock-450x450.png 450w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Hemlock-100x100.png 100w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Hemlock-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Hemlock.png 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/2021\/03\/04\/identify-poison-hemlock\/hemlock-stem\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"169\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Hemlock-stem-169x300.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-26009\" srcset=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Hemlock-stem-169x300.jpg 169w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Hemlock-stem-84x150.jpg 84w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Hemlock-stem.jpg 540w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 169px) 100vw, 169px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-26009'>\n\t\t\t\tPurple blotches on stem\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/2021\/03\/04\/identify-poison-hemlock\/hemlock-3\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Hemlock-225x300.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-26010\" srcset=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Hemlock-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Hemlock-900x1199.jpg 900w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Hemlock-769x1024.jpg 769w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Hemlock-768x1023.jpg 768w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Hemlock-1153x1536.jpg 1153w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Hemlock-113x150.jpg 113w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Hemlock.jpg 1201w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-26010'>\n\t\t\t\tHemlock plants\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/2021\/03\/04\/identify-cows-parsley\/cows-parsley_flower_spring\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Cows-Parsley_Flower_Spring-300x225.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-31127\" srcset=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Cows-Parsley_Flower_Spring-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Cows-Parsley_Flower_Spring-scaled-900x675.jpg 900w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Cows-Parsley_Flower_Spring-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Cows-Parsley_Flower_Spring-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Cows-Parsley_Flower_Spring-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Cows-Parsley_Flower_Spring-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Cows-Parsley_Flower_Spring-150x113.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-31127'>\n\t\t\t\tcow parsley flowers\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/2021\/03\/04\/identify-cows-parsley\/cows-parsley-stalk-2\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/cows-parsley-stalk-300x200.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-25987\" srcset=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/cows-parsley-stalk-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/cows-parsley-stalk-900x599.jpg 900w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/cows-parsley-stalk-1024x681.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/cows-parsley-stalk-768x511.jpg 768w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/cows-parsley-stalk-1536x1021.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/cows-parsley-stalk-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/cows-parsley-stalk.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-25987'>\n\t\t\t\tFeathered leaves of cows parsley\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/2021\/03\/04\/identify-cows-parsley\/cows-parsley_curved-stem_spring\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Cows-Parsley_Curved-Stem_Spring-scaled-e1674050042573-300x225.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-31128\" srcset=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Cows-Parsley_Curved-Stem_Spring-scaled-e1674050042573-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Cows-Parsley_Curved-Stem_Spring-scaled-e1674050042573-150x113.jpg 150w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Cows-Parsley_Curved-Stem_Spring-scaled-e1674050042573.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-31128'>\n\t\t\t\tcow parsley stems\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>So it\u2019s that time of year where I see so many ID requests for cow parsley (or as some call it Wild Chervil).<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\r\n<p>when I first started foraging my guide books told me all about the wonders of the stuff, great as a parsley substitute and can be used in almost everything from salads to soups and stews as a pot herb flavouring.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<cite>Sam Webster<\/cite><\/blockquote>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Often those books don\u2019t tell you this plant has an almost identical and very deadly look-alike! A nibble of hemlock and you could end up in hospital fighting for your life. Hemlock contains toxic alkaloids which affect your nervous system stopping essential organs working until eventually, your lungs stop working and you suffocate. Scary stuff but this is why it\u2019s so important to be confident and certain with these two plants.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Thankfully there are a few ways to tell them apart, but you really have to look closely at each plant, it took me quite a while to be happy that I had cow parsley and not hemlock, so don\u2019t worry if you not confident picking cow parsley for a long time it is an advanced forager plant.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<hr \/>\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">So what are the differences between Cows Parsley and Poison Hemlock?<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Well, it\u2019s quite simple really: spotty and bald is bad! If you remember this little rule then that\u2019s a great place to start.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Hemlock has purple spots on the stems (though young shoots often have very faint spots so it\u2019s not always a reliable feature) and the stems are also hairless, they\u2019re smooth, rounded and quite flexible until the flower stem is fully grown. The stems are also hollow and the plant (especially when you break a bit off) has an unpleasant chemical-like smell to it.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Cow parsley stems are hairy (and ribbed if it\u2019s the flower stem) and it\u2019s quite rigid. Where it\u2019s easiest to tell the two apart is the leaf stem, cow parsley is celery shaped, if you look down a cross-section of the stems there\u2019s only a small hole, (so if it would make a good pea shooter it\u2019s more likely you\u2019ve got a stick of hemlock!) the smell of cow parsley is much nicer too, living up to its name and having a mild parsley smell to it!\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>The leaves and flowers for both are almost identical so unless you&#8217;re a pro and know what you&#8217;re looking for go to the stems for your identification. There are some differences between the seeds, cow parsley seeds are straight, black and have a similar shape to a deer hoof print, hemlock the seeds are more curled and a lighter colour than cow parsley, they are also ribbed.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<hr \/>\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/2021\/03\/04\/identify-cows-parsley\/\">Cow parsley\u00a0<\/a><\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/JQep8B3OJmHFJtcXoyJIvJzK_wvVqO5M-pcAta_sdIicIT57WqoyR_TnL-izG5bzwXQf1POvylTJOIIyIexIU-YPpUFDJ1UeiEFzkmfBgXGNpw9vnEfurh_G0twm1BflKie_dM7-\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>hairy celery-shaped leaf stem<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh5.googleusercontent.com\/1WfWrFZqtlUo2GSuqs7UA3n34Ho5wp2dvcxmYSQpu0SnMxPD2IgN5_nCCBqldnOL9X_8HBYuFeKZ2OLKQDTtCHgpXstdri66IAC-FPaeccdZCbgzAXor52HGPmw-f9eK-704WhWW\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Hairy spot-free ribbed stem<\/p>\r\n<h3>How about a Quick Cows Parsley Video?<\/h3>\r\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Cow Parsley Foraging in the UK (Anthriscus Sylvestris)\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/325rnf9RFTs?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\r\n<hr \/>\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/2021\/03\/04\/identify-poison-hemlock\/\">Poison Hemlock\u00a0<\/a><\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh5.googleusercontent.com\/4iqJYD_wYdA19sbUiY4zjTdtdOMB1rDSAl4SUw2Tc9TSQHij99mV0cG7kcPV05kQmV4m3VuYed8v9xWyd6zgZElV6kay-vBodWku8L95JXR5YrklXobK2Qb9pXElMWxJseV0G9GG\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Rounded spotted, smooth and hair-free stems\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh6.googleusercontent.com\/mdLsr6WGCH3t7Mak2ZCNQx2-e0Eu5G-AkYhknrQTJFPG0CIFNhgGzeKAswNGSzM2WnOGlrLYsJvFnY_YBibYMY4B8q9UYFk10N1mCUOC3kb6CIFvwHNkwgEmE21pIVqFNYqRIekk\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Young hemlock stems, spots are not yet showing but the stems are rounded and hairless<\/p>\r\n<h3>How about a quick Poison Hemlock Video<\/h3>\r\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Poison Hemlock (Conium Maculatum) - Foraging UK -\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/aLdEAEQBL4s?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<hr \/>\r\n<h2>Conclusion<\/h2>\r\n<p>So there we have it, the key differences between the edible and ever so common Cows Parsley and the deadly toxic lookalike that is Poison Hemlock.<\/p>\r\n<p>We&#8217;ve outlined the key differences between the two and as always make sure you&#8217;re 100% certain before picking anything to eat.<\/p>\r\n<p>Happy Foraging<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Is Cows Parsley Toxic or can it be confused with any toxic or poisonous plants? well let&#8217;s take a low at Cows Parsley or Poison Hemlock &#8211; What&#8217;s the difference?\u00a0 So it\u2019s that time of year where I see so many ID requests for cow parsley (or as some call&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":63355,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1780,371,101,86,1776,1777,1782],"tags":[151,152,153,154,155,156],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13662"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13662"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13662\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":80464,"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13662\/revisions\/80464"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/63355"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13662"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13662"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13662"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}