Photographs: near Baltimore, Co. Cork

Fool's Parsley Aethusa cynapium Peirsil amaide Family: Apiaceae Flowering: April-October. Annual / biennial. Possibly introduced Umbels of white flowers with unequal petals and distinctive bracteoles. Ridged fruit. The dark-green leaves are triangular, 2 or 3 times pinnate with deeply pinnate lanceolate leaflets. A hairless plant with finely ridged, branched and leafy hollow stems. Height 20-80cm. Poisonous. Grows on waste and cultivated ground and on roadsides. Found throughout Ireland but most frequent in the south and east.

Fool's Parsley, Aethusa cynapium, Peirsil amaide