Common Hedge Parsley is an annual weed in the carrot family with showy white umbel flowers that appear in early to mid-summer. This plant is found all over Eurasia, has naturalized in N. America and is found along roadsides, disturbed areas, thickets, and recently logged woodlands. The plant has a taproot, self-seeds easily and disperses its bristly seeds on animal fur or clothing.
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
Soil texture
Clay; Shallow Rocky
Soil pH
Alkaline (>8.0); Neutral (6.0-8.0)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Occasionally Dry
Mature size
Height: 1 ft. 0 in. - 3 ft. 0 in. | Width: 0 ft. 6 in. - 1 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Medium
Maintenance
High
Canopy layer
4 - Herbaceous (3-15 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Erect
Texture
Medium
Leaf color
Green
Leaf type
Compound (Pinnately , Bipinnately, Palmately)
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf shape
Deltoid; Lanceolate; Ovate
Leaf margin
Dentate; Lobed
Leaf size
> 6 inches long, 3-6 inches wide
Hairs present
Yes
Leaf detail
Pinnately or bipinnately compound with trifoliate leaflets. Leaflets are 1-2 inches long and .75 inches wide. Leaves are triangular-shaped fern-like alternate leaves with long slender petioles. Leaves close to the flowers are lanceolate or narrowly ovate. 6" long and 4" wide with short white hairs on the upper surface.
Flower color
Pink; White
Flower form
Umbel
Flower size
1-3 inches
Flower detail
2"-3" across umbles with about 8 umblets containing 8 1/8" flowers each. Each flower has 5 unequal white petals and 5 stamens. Petals may have a pink or reddish tinge. Blooms happen early to mid-summer.
Bloom time
Summer
Fruit color
Brown/Copper; Green; Pink
Fruit type
Capsule
Fruit size
< 1 inch long, < 1 inch wide
Fruit detail
Oblong bur-like seed with straight to curved bristles that attach themselves to animal fur and clothing to aid in dispersal. It starts out rosey-green and matures to brown.
Stem color
Green
Stem detail
Slender, round, covered in white fine hairs.
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Non-native
Origin
Europe, East Asia, North Africa
Distribution
AL, AR, CA, GA, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MD, MO, MS, NC, NE, NJ, NY, OH, OR, PA, SC, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA, WV
Wildlife value
Flowers attract pollinators, bees, flies, wasps and caterpillars of the butterfly Papilio polyxenes asterius (Black Swallowtail) feed on the leaves.