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Lesser water parsnip

Lesser water parsnip © Brian Eversham

Lesser water-parsnip

Look out for the white, umbrella-like flower heads of lesser water-parsnip along the shallow margins of ditches, ponds, lakes and rivers. When crushed, it does, indeed, smell like parsnip!

Enw gwyddonol

Berula erecta

Pryd i'w gweld

July to September

Species information

Ystadegau

Height: 0.3-1m
Common.

Cynefinoedd

Ynghylch

The lesser water-parsnip is a perennial, aquatic plant that grows in shallow, clear, flowing water at the margins of ditches, ponds, lakes and rivers. It can grow quite tall and displays umbrella-like flower heads from July to September.

Sut i'w hadnabod

Lesser water-parsnip has loose umbels of white flower heads and grooved hollow stems. Its bluish-green leaves are pinnate with varying numbers of leaflets (3 to 14 pairs) that have toothed edges. A characteristic feature of this plant is the presence of a pale ring at the base of the leaf stalk.

Dosbarthiad

Mainly found in lowland England, scarce elsewhere.

Roeddech chi yn gwybod?

As its name suggests, lesser water-parsnip smells of parsnip or carrot when it is crushed.