Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An illustrated flora of the northern United States, Canada and the British Possessions. 3 vols. Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York. Vol. 2: 656. Provided by Kentucky Native Plant Society. Scanned by Omnitek Inc.
Where Commonly Found: Swamps, wet meadows, wet woodlands, steam margins, ditches and muddy shore throughout North America, CT, MA, ME, NH, NY, RI, VT.
How to Identify:
(For unfamiliar words: Wikipedia Glossary of Botanical Terms).
Go Botany Key for Sium suave.
Missouri Botanical Garden’s description of Sium suave. Click on more images.
Flower Color: White
Flower Type: Umbels, flattish, each flower is 1/4″ wide, clusteed into a 1-1/2″ – 4-1/2″ umbel.
Flower Time: July to September
Leaf Arrangement: on stout, hollow, central smooth stem, ridged.
Leaf Type: Compound, pinnately, divided into 5 – 17 pointed lanceolate leaflets, each 1/2″ – 6″ long. deep green leaves, with sharply toothed margins, total compound leaf is 4″ – 10″ long. Submerged leaves are finely dissected.
Height: 2′ – 6′
Seed Collection: Oval fruit, ribbed
Attracts: Beneficial insects.
Use: Naturalizing.
Light: Full Sun to Part Shde
Hardiness Zone: 3 to 9 USDA Zone Map
Soils: Medium to Wet
Notes: Sium suave (Water Parsnip) is a water loving wildflower that could be useful in a rain garden, where moist soil is consistent. Looks very similar to the very poisonous Water Hemlock so be very careful!
Native to all of the continental US: Biota of North America Program (BONAP) – North American Plant Atlas (NAPA).
Requested by Edgewood Nursery.
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