Water hemlock? - Ask Extension
Greetings. Would you be kind enough to examine the attached photos? They are from our water garden, and these look like water hemlock or water par...
Knowledgebase
Water hemlock? #844191
Asked August 04, 2023, 4:26 PM EDT
Greetings. Would you be kind enough to examine the attached photos? They are from our water garden, and these look like water hemlock or water parsnip, but I don't trust my judgement on this. Any assistance you can provide would be very much appreciated.
Oakland County Michigan
Expert Response
This is water parsnip (Sium suave), which is a member of the Carrot family and thus a relative of the other two species of concern. Water parsley is a native perennial.
Please check out the following sites for good descriptions and photos. There are many members of this family in Michigan (>50), and some look very similar, so distinguishing them can be challenging. In this case, water parsnip has compound leaves, but water hemlock has doubly compound leaves. Water parsnip also has a finely serrated leaf edge, which water hemlock does not.
MN Wildflowers- water parsnip:
https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/flower/water-parsnip
MN Wildflowers- water hemlock:
https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/flower/water-hemlock
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Please check out the following sites for good descriptions and photos. There are many members of this family in Michigan (>50), and some look very similar, so distinguishing them can be challenging. In this case, water parsnip has compound leaves, but water hemlock has doubly compound leaves. Water parsnip also has a finely serrated leaf edge, which water hemlock does not.
MN Wildflowers- water parsnip:
https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/flower/water-parsnip
MN Wildflowers- water hemlock:
https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/flower/water-hemlock
Please let me know if you have any questions.
