Parsleys, Fennels, and Queen Anne's Lace: Herbs and Ornamentals from the Umbel Family

157 Pages·2007·2.52 MB·English

by  Barbara Perry Lawton

P US$29.95
a
r Parsleys, Fennels, and Queen Anne’s Lace is the
Here is the gardener’s
s
gar­dener­’s intr­oduction to the char­acter­istics,
l
e cultivation, and histor­y of one of the most
introduction to a y
distinctive families of the plant kingdom.
s
, These plants wer­e well known to the Gr­eeks
delightfully distinctive
F and Romans—it was the juice of a member­ of
e the umbel family that Socr­ates was for­ced to
family of plants. n
dr­ink—and the family was the fir­st to be stud-
n
ied as such botanically, by Rober­t Mor­ison in
Barbara Lawton e 1672. Yet even today the many her­bs and or­na-
l
s mentals of this family ar­e not as well known
reveals the secrets , or­ appr­eciated as they should be.

a Bar­bar­a Lawton, who explor­ed the lor­e and
A master­ gar­dener­, Bar­bar­a Per­r­y Lawton of the umbels for n legends of another­ plant family in her­ Timber­
ser­ved as editor­ and manager­ of publica- d Pr­ess book Mints, r­eveals her­e the secr­ets of the
tions for­ the Missour­i Botanical Gar­den, Umbellifer­ae, also called Apiaceae. It is the
anyone interested
Q
pr­esident of the Gar­den Wr­iter­s Associa- par­ticular­ ar­r­angement of flower­s that distin-
tion of Amer­ica, and weekly gar­den colum- u guishes umbels, as the plants ar­e commonly
in herbs, whether for
nist for­ the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Her­ other­ e called, but in spite of this basic similar­ity the
books include Hibiscus: Hardy and Tropical e hundr­eds of gener­a and thousands of species
Plants for the Garden, published by Timber­ their culinary value n of the family display a r­ich var­iety of for­ms

Pr­ess, and Magic of Irises. A and ar­e put to many uses. Umbel-bear­ing
or as ornamentals.
n plants have ar­omatic oils in their­ foliage and
n fr­uits, and many ar­e used as her­bs, spices, and
Jacket fr­ont photogr­aph: Jason Wickens
foods—anise, car­away, car­r­ot, celer­y, cor­iander­,
Jacket back photogr­aphs: Bar­bar­a Per­r­y Lawton e
(top), Jelitto Staudensamen GmbH (middle and ’ cumin, dill, lovage, and of cour­se, par­sley and
s
lower­) fennel, to name a few. In such a diver­se family
L
Author­ photogr­aph: Becca Gilber­g ther­e ar­e natur­ally some sur­pr­ises, such as
a
that Queen Anne’s lace, familiar­ in fields and
Parsleys, Fennels,
c
along waysides in the autumn, is the ancestor­
e
of the cultivated car­r­ot.

and Queen Anne’s Lace Many umbels ar­e valued additions to the
L
or­namental gar­den, too. For­ example, Miss
a
w Willmott’s ghost, Eryngium giganteum, is a str­ik-
t ingly ar­chitectur­al per­ennial—and one with a
o
For­ details on other­ Timber­ Pr­ess books or­ to n Herbs and Ornamentals frOm tHe Umbel family fascinating histor­y, as its common name sug-
ISBN-13: 978-0-88192-822-8
r­eceive our­ catalog, please visit our­ Web site, gests. Parsleys, Fennels, and Queen Anne’s Lace is
www.timber­pr­ess.com. Barbara Perry Lawton
for­ anyone inter­ested in her­bs, whether­ for­
In the United States and Canada you may also E
A their­ culinar­y value or­ as or­namentals.
r­each us at 800-327-5680, and in the United
N
Kingdom at info@timber­pr­ess.co.uk.
£20.00
Parsleys, Fennels, and Queen Anne’s Lace

Parsleys, Fennels,
and Queen Anne’s Lace
Herbs and Ornamentals frOm
tHe Umbel family
Barbara Perry Lawton
Timber Press
Copyright © 2007 by barbara Perry Lawton. All rights reserved.
All photographs by the author unless otherwise indicated.
Frontispiece: Coriandrum from elizabeth blackwell’s A Curious Herbal
(1737). missouri botanical Garden sturtevant Pre-Linnaean Collection.
Published in 2007 by
Timber Press, inc.
The Haseltine building
133 s.W. second Avenue, suite 450
Portland, Oregon 97204-3527, U.s.A.
www.timberpress.com
For contact information regarding editorial, marketing, sales, and
distribution in the United Kingdom, see www.timberpress.co.uk.
Printed in China
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Lawton, barbara Perry.
Parsleys, fennels, and Queen Anne’s lace : herbs and ornamentals from
the umbel family / barbara Perry Lawton.
p. cm.
includes bibliographical references and index.
isbN-13: 978-0-88192-822-8
1. Umbelliferae. 2. Parsley. 3. Fennel. 4. Carrots. i. Title.
sb351.U54L39 2007
635.9'33849—dc22
2006013502
A catalog record for this book is also available from the british Library.
Once again, I thank Bill and Cindy and their families
for their interest and encouragement

Contents
Preface 9
chapter 1 Umbels in History and Lore 13
chapter 2 medicinal and Poisonous Umbels 26
chapter 3 edible Umbels 38
chapter 4 Ornamental Umbels 47
chapter 5 Umbels in the Wild 58
chapter 6 Pests and Diseases 75
chapter 7 botany of Umbels 81
chapter 8 A Catalog of Umbels, from Aciphylla to Zizia 87
Finding information and Plants 143
U.s. Department of Agriculture
Hardiness Zones 144
Glossary 145
Further reading 149
index of Plant Names 152
Color plates follow page 48

Preface
I
magine! Here are popular vegetables, herbs, and spices in the
same family as the world’s most poisonous plants. Plants that
have played a role in the deaths of many ordinary people and at
least one major historical figure are closely related to those prized
for their culinary and medicinal virtues. And in centuries past, peo-
ple believed some of these herbs had magical qualities that would
repel evil: hang dill over your doorway to keep the devil away.
As you will discover in chapter 1, there are surprises to be found
in this fascinating plant group. since learning the details of soc-
rates’ deadly tea of poison hemlock, i have developed such a respect
for that plant that i observe the gigantic clumps that appear along
a railroad track near me only from a healthy distance. And since i
learned the story of english horticulturist ellen Willmott’s sowing
of seeds (fruitlets, actually, as we will discover) of the pale and
ghostly sea holly, when i see the plants in a garden bed, i envision
miss Willmott surreptitiously strewing the fruitlets as she strolled
through others’ gardens.
The umbel family (or parsley family), Apiaceae or Umbelliferae,
is a large one. exact numbers vary depending on the authority, but
according to mark Griffiths (1994) there are some 418 genera and
about 3100 species. since the taxonomy is not yet carved in stone—
indeed, the botanists i have talked to agree that there’s a long way
to go in understanding the relationships of the genera and species—
there is much disagreement as to how many plants constitute this
family.
As i researched this book, i was astonished to discover the