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PARSLEY
Petroselium crispum (Mill.) Nym., family Umbelliferae

Parsley is grown "nearly everywhere in home and market gardens alike" (Hawthorn and Pollard 1954*); thus, there is a relatively large demand for seed. In 1969, the United States produced 97,000 pounds on 139 acres and imported another 115,000 pounds. The green leaves are used as a garnish and as a seasoning of soups and other foods. Turnip-rooted parsley (var. radicosum Bailey) is grown for its thick parsniplike tapering root.

Plant:

Parsley is normally a biennial when grown for seed. During the first year, it forms a dense rosette of leaves. In the second year, it develops a 3- to 6-foot stem with small greenish-yellow flowers (Jones and Rosa 1928*). The umbels are less dense than those of carrots. The seed is harvested in the fall by the method used in carrot seed production (see "Carrots") (Hawthorn and Pollard 1954*).

Inflorescence:

The bisexual, 2-mm floret of the compound parsley umbel has five greenish-yellow petals, five stamens, two styles, and a two-celled ovary, each cell of which produces one seed. The flowers are less showy than those of carrots. According to Knuth (1908*, p. 459), nectar is secreted by an epigynous disk, which is freely exposed in the middle of the floret. He also indicated that the stamens ripen successively; then, after all have ripened and withered in a flower, the style begins to grow and the stigma becomes receptive.

Pollination Requirements:

Darwin (1889*) stated that bagged parsley plants set as many seeds as open plants, but the crossed seed produced by the open-pollinated plant had a very slight advantage. Jones and Rosa (1928*) stated that the flowers are self-fertile, but their drawings indicate that the flower must receive pollen from another. Hawthorn and Pollard (1954*) stated that the flowers are potentially self-fertile, but did not explain how self- fertilization might be accomplished.

Pollinators:

No other information was found that insects, wind, or gravity influenced the pollination of parsley, except for the statement by Hawthorn and Pollard (1954*) that insects aid in its pollination. If the stigma does not become receptive until after all pollen has disappeared, the nectar of the flower must lure the insect. Nectar-collecting insects and not pollen collectors would therefore appear to be the primary agents.

Pollination Recommendations and Practices:

None.

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