The Apiaceae, the carrot or parsley family, are a family of usually aromatic plants with hollow stems, including parsley, carrot, and other relatives. It is a large family with about 300 genera and more than 3,000 species.
They were originally called the Umbelliferae, due to the inflorescence in the form of a compound "umbel".
The small flowers are radially symmetrical with 5 small sepals, 5 petals and 5 stamens.
The family contains some highly toxic plants, such as hemlock, which was used to execute Socrates. It also contains some highly useful plants, such as carrots, parsley, caraway, and fennel. Many plants in this family, such as Wild carrot have estrogenic properties, and have been used as folk medicine for birth control. Most notable for this use is the extinct giant fennel, silphium.
Notable members include:
Genera
Water Pennywort (
Hydrocotyle ranunculoides)
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