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Questions and Answers: 2021

Question: I believe that I have cow parsley as an invasive alien in our hedgerows in West Boylston. It is blooming …

• Question

  I believe that I have cow parsley as an invasive alien in our hedgerows in West Boylston. It is blooming now (last week of May) and is about 2-3 feet tall. How can I be sure and differentiate it from other similar plants?

  Answer

  Dear WBoylGardener, it is important that we know the identification of species so we don't accidentally try controlling native populations. I really appreciate you taking the time to write. Here is the key from the Flora Novae Angliae manual, if you don't understand any of the terminology, feel free to contact me at ahaines@nativeplanttrust.org and I will try to help further. 1a. Umbel with mostly 50–150 primary branches, up to 50 cm wide; leaflets of principal leaves up to 130 cm long; schizocarp on a pedicel 15–40 mm long, with oil tubes 0.8 mm wide or wider that extend (50–) 65–75% of the way from apex to base of mature . . . . . H. mantegazzianum 1b. Umbel with mostly 15–45 primary branches, rarely exceeding 20 cm wide; leaflets of principal leaves 10–30 (–60) cm long; schizocarp on a pedicel 6–20 mm long, with oil tubes up to 0.5 (–0.8) mm wide that extend 50–60 (–70%) of the way from apex to base of mature fruit . . . . . H. maximum