In Nature's Green Garden

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by Connie Handscomb

Title

In Nature's Green Garden

Artist

Connie Handscomb

Medium

Photograph - Photography - Fine Art

Description

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Taken in natural light ; unaltered : Nature in all its natural splendour.

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Cow Parsnip (Heracleum lanatum L.; Heracleum maximum; Heracleum sphondylium)
Also commonly called Wild Celery; Indian Celery
*Not to be confused with Hogweed 'Heracleum sphondylium'

Family : Apiaceae (Carrot) ; Umbelliferae "bearer of umbels"


Carrot, dill, parsley, celery, parsnips, caraway : these common food plants belong to this botanical family. The dark (poisonous) members of this family are: Fool's Parsley, water hemlock, and poison hemlock - do NOT eat these.

This plant prefers a moist soil & is commonly found near ponds or streams, or wet meadows or woods, and since butterflies like it, it is planted in gardens. The young shoots are apparently very fleshy and, when peeled, are cooked like asparagus. They can be eaten as a vegetable, and were by indigenous North Americans, although caution is recommended since this plant looks much like a more poisonous relative.

There are over 3,000 species in this family.

This plant is found throughout North America and in England (this image was actually taken in Surrey, England in a priory park).

Sources:
Plants Of Coastal British Columbia [Pojar MacKinnon]
The Wild Garden: Hansen's Northwest Native Plant Database [online]
Food For Free [Richard Mabey]
Weeds Of Canada and the Northern United States [Royer & Dickinson]
Encyclopedia Of Northwest Native Plants for Gardens and Landscapes [Robson, Richter, Filbert]

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♥ Heartfelt Gratitude to FAA Groups for featuring this image:

Medicinal Plants
The Artistic Forager
Fine Art Wildflower Photography
The Green Paradise
10 Plus
Wild Flowers

Uploaded

January 24th, 2015