Hello! I’m Pastinaca sativa!

Thanks for coming to learn more about me today!  Many of you may know me by my common name, wild parsnip.  I am a pesky little plant that originally came from Eurasia but can now you can find me all over the world, including 45 states in the US.  In fact, I have been so successful in the US that I am now considered an invasive species in Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and Wisconsin! 

 

 

I can usually be spotted hanging out on roadsides, pastures, and abandoned fields.  Once I invade an open area, I take over pretty quickly and I have the ability to modify the habitats I live in.  Head to habitat to learn more!  You can pick me out in a crowd easily in June to mid-July because I have hundreds of small yellow flowers on each plant while I am in bloom.

 

 

 

Since I am extremely pesky, you may feel the urge to rip me out of the ground at the first sight of me, but be cautious!  For defense, I have a chemical in my flowers, leaves, stem and fruits that will cause intense burning and possible blistering on your skin!  This burning is intensified if you’re exposed to the sun and many people think the rash I cause is like artificial or false sunburn.  So, for your safety, make sure that you wear gloves, long sleeves, and pants before you try to get rid of me! Check out control for more tips and tricks!

 

 

Come on, keep reading!  You can learn about my phylogeny in the Classifications section!

Or, you can head to MultipleOrganisms to check out some of the work that other UW-L students have done!