Help ID Apiaceae / Umbelliferae weed?

I granted this weed a pardon last year because I wanted to see what it would turn into. But that was before it was in the middle of my strawberry bed plans. 



The weed was a simple small rosette last year, and is bigger this year, i.e. likely a biennial or perennial that will flower this year. I can tell it’s a probably a plant in the carrot/parsley family, and I know it’s not Queen Anne’s lace, carrot, dill or fennel, but I don’t know what it is.  I’d like to know what it is before I put the raised bed in. I know plants in this family typically don’t transplant well, but depending on what it is, I might try anyhow.  I know sometimes close-up photos of a particular portion of the plant are necessary for proper ID, if that’s the case here, let me know what to focus on.  Thanks!

Looks a lot like a parsnip to me. Have you pulled one up?

CC

I agree, looks like a parsnip.

Nope, there's just the one plant. This will be my first year growing parsnips. I haven't seen them with leaves before -- just the (tasty) cleaned up roots at the grocery store.

Here is what the plant looks like:

https://www.google.com/search?q=parsnip&client=safari&hl=en-us&prmd=insv&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiTysTn-qXMAhUE4SYKHaDMDPoQ_AUIBygB&biw=1024&bih=671#hl=en-us&tbm=isch&q=parsnip+plant+images&imgrc=uDYnwgcmM0aqlM%3A

Close, right?

BeetlesPerSqFt wrote:Nope, there's just the one plant. This will be my first year growing parsnips. I haven't seen them with leaves before -- just the (tasty) cleaned up roots at the grocery store.

Yeah, well I hope you have better luck than I do. Mine end up looking like a man o' war jellyfish or a flying saucer. I rarely get one that looks like it came from the grocery store. I give up.

CC

Scorpio Rising wrote:Here is what the plant looks like:

https://www.google.com/search?q=parsnip&client=safari&hl=en-us&prmd=insv&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiTysTn-qXMAhUE4SYKHaDMDPoQ_AUIBygB&biw=1024&bih=671#hl=en-us&tbm=isch&q=parsnip+plant+images&imgrc=uDYnwgcmM0aqlM%3A

Close, right?

They look the same to me!

The strawberry bed box ran into some construction difficulties because I tried to get fancy... but I dug the weed out today. (I used the big long shovel, and then bagged it without touching it... I didn't want to risk wild parsnip burns! ) Here's what the root looks like:

Dumb question, but is the wild parsnip a different variety than the parsnip we plant? If so, how would one know the difference?

sanderson wrote:Dumb question, but is the wild parsnip a different variety than the parsnip we plant?  If so, how would one know the difference?

We have Wild Pasrnip around here. 

From the City of Ottawa website:

Wild Parsnip (Pastinaca sativa)

Wild Parsnip is an invasive plant that is increasingly common within the City of Ottawa in areas of uncultivated land, roadside ditches, nature trails, as well as on and surrounding rural and residential properties.
Wild Parsnip may pose a health risk to humans. The plant sap contains chemicals that may cause skin and eye irritation and make the skin prone to burning and blistering when exposed to the sun. The blisters typically occur one to two days after contact with the plant. This can result in long-term scarring of the skin.
The best way to avoid contact with Wild Parsnip is to become familiar with what the plant looks like so you do not accidentally come in contact with the plant.

Identification

Wild Parsnip is a highly branched plant, with hollow green stems. It has two growth stages: non-flowering leafy rosettes at ground level and 0.5 to 1.5 metre-tall flowering plants.
Early Growth: In the first year of growth, low-growing non-flowering rosettes of leaves form with a cluster of spindly, compound leaves that resemble celery leaves.
In Bloom: When Wild Parsnip is in bloom usually in the second and third year plants have tall, branched yellow flowering stalks that usually bloom in early June to late July.
Mature Plant: Starting in August ‎the blooming plant will begin to turn brown and the leaves and stems will begin to dry up. This means that the toxic sap from the plant will also begin to dry up, and contact with the plant is less likely to cause a reaction. Once the plant is completely dry the seeds will fall to the ground.
Seeds are flat and round. It is a biennial plant, reproducing only by seed. The seeds can lie dormant for years making it even more challenging to control.

Early Growth

In Bloom

Mature Plant

sanderson wrote:Dumb question, but is the wild parsnip a different variety than the parsnip we plant?  If so, how would one know the difference?

They are the same species, and wikipedia claims "slight morphological differences" without saying what they are. Best way to tell is knowing where you sowed your parsnip seeds! 

Cultivated parsnips can cause phytophotodermatitis, too, as can carrots, Queen Anne's lace, angelica, celery -- and, apparently, limes/lime juice. The basic recommendation is too cover up (gloves, sleeves, and pants not shorts) and not work with them when it's hot and sunny, especially if they are wet or you are wet (i.e. sweaty.) Some sites suggest that the concentration of the responsible compounds is increased if the plant has a fungal infection or is being attacked by insects, or maybe is higher in older plants. The plant photographed was a second year plant, growing in a landscape bed in soil I didn't think was particularly good, so I figured it was at higher risk of being infected... but look at that root!

Let's see if my membership is old enough to post a link yet... Here's a link that discusses the discrepancy between "this happens" and "but I've grown parsnips for years and never had this happen":
http://www.thepoisongarden.co.uk/atoz/pastinaca_sativa.htm

Weird. New to me!