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10th July 2019, pond, Brabyns Park, Marple, Gtr M/cr. | Photo: © RWD |
Sitting very near the hidden shallow water muddy edges of a park pond amongst other water-loving plants. Both the pinnate leaves and white umbels of Lesser Water-parsnip plants are very evident here (not much else of it though). |
22nd July 2015, Old Moor, Wath-upon-Dearn, Sheffield. | Photo: © John Phandaal Law |
It is hairless and grows to 1m high in or beside marshes, fens and freshwater mostly in the lowlands. Stem branches off with thinner flowering branches in Y-shapes at every bifurcation, with the thicker main stem going the other way. |
22nd July 2015, Old Moor, Wath-upon-Dearn, Sheffield. | Photo: © John Phandaal Law |
The umbels are compound, the umbel usually with between 7 to 18 smooth rays which are between 0.5 to 2.5cm long and with between 4 to 7 bracts beneath. The bracts are either lanceolate, or 3-forked, or shallowly lobed; the lobes being in opposite pairs with a single terminal one. The umbel with fruits on the umbellets has lanceolate bracts. |
22nd July 2015, Old Moor, Wath-upon-Dearn, Sheffield. | Photo: © John Phandaal Law |
The fork in the branch which leads to a compound umbel (the petiole) is usually longer than the rays. At each bifurcation of stems a leaf sheaths off beneath one of the branches. |
22nd July 2015, Old Moor, Wath-upon-Dearn, Sheffield. | Photo: © John Phandaal Law |
In the interests of science your Author held one aloft away from the madding crowd so the reader can best see it. |
22nd July 2015, Old Moor, Wath-upon-Dearn, Sheffield. | Photo: © John Phandaal Law |
Lower leaves on a long stalk and singly-pinnate, the pinnules being toothed. |
22nd July 2015, Old Moor, Wath-upon-Dearn, Sheffield. | Photo: © John Phandaal Law |
Lower leaf teeth randomly unequal. |
10th July 2019, pond, Brabyns Park, Marple, Gtr M/cr. | Photo: © RWD |
Umbels quite sparse in number and a bit haphazardly arranged compared to some more symmetrical umbellifers. |
10th July 2019, pond, Brabyns Park, Marple, Gtr M/cr. | Photo: © RWD |
Those umbels which are going to seed are drooping for some reason - they shouldn't be. Maybe its the 5 week dry spell we have just had since it is not just the specimen I broke off which is doing this - the others which are still in the pond are drooping too. |
10th July 2019, pond, Brabyns Park, Marple, Gtr M/cr. | Photo: © RWD |
Leaf sheaths quite narrow and with a purple coloration. |
10th July 2019, pond, Brabyns Park, Marple, Gtr M/cr. | Photo: © RWD |
The number of pairs of leaflets in a leaf usually varies from 5 to 9 pairs (up to 14 pairs on occasion). |
10th July 2019, pond, Brabyns Park, Marple, Gtr M/cr. | Photo: © RWD |
The bracts beneath the main umbel usually vary from 4 to 7, with each being either lanceolate or 3-fid (cut into 3 lobes by cuts up to half-way) or pinnatifid (pinnately lobed with shallow lobes) |
10th July 2019, pond, Brabyns Park, Marple, Gtr M/cr. | Photo: © RWD |
The bracteoles beneath umbeletts can also have either 4 to 7 bracts with each being either lanceolate or cut to halfway 3-fid (top left). The bracts are in the centre. The stems are grooved and hollow. The umbel can have between 7 to 18 smooth (but maybe grooved) rays. |
10th July 2019, pond, Brabyns Park, Marple, Gtr M/cr. | Photo: © RWD |
The flowers are either actinomorphic (for the inner flowers) or hemizygomorphic for the outer flowers. Filaments longish splaying out beyond the petals. |
2nd July 2019, pond, Brabyns Park, Marple, Gtr M/cr. | Photo: © RWD |
Displaying the bracteoles below the umbellets and the larger ones beneath the umbel. |
2nd July 2019, pond, Brabyns Park, Marple, Gtr M/cr. | Photo: © RWD |
The 3-fid bracteoles beneath the main umbel - the one on the right the larger and definitively split into 3. The umbel stems are slightly fluted/ribbed (take your pick). |
2nd July 2019, pond, Brabyns Park, Marple, Gtr M/cr. | Photo: © RWD |
The petals have now dropped off and a female umbel with umbellets is turning to seed. |
2nd July 2019, pond, Brabyns Park, Marple, Gtr M/cr. | Photo: © RWD |
The developing fruits in an umbellet. They are between 1.5 to 2mm long and maybe less than a millimetre thick across the smallest dimension. |
2nd July 2019, pond, Brabyns Park, Marple, Gtr M/cr. | Photo: © RWD |
The off-green (here) mericarps of the fruit have slightly bulging ridges with narrow pale green grooves between. The fruits are on pedicels (stalks) which are between 3 and 5mm long. The white styles atop the white stylopodium splay apart. |
Not to be semantically confused with : Easily mis-identified as : Fool's-Water-cress (Apium nodiflorum) but distinguished from that by the presence of 4-7 bracts under the main umbel, and by the distinct node in the lower leaf-stalk of the basal pinnate leaves. It is a sprawling to erect native stoloniferous perennial which grows in or beside shallow freshwater or in Fens or on Marshes and is the only plant in its genus, Berula.
It contains the toxic Unlike many umbellifers with hermaphrodite flowers on the inner umbels and male flowered outer umbels, all Lesser Water-parsnip umbels have hermaphroditic flowers. The flowers are white, not tinged pink (although anthers are pink/red if seen without the cream-coloured pollen).
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erecta ![]() |
⇐ Global Aspect ⇒ |
Apiaceae ![]() |
![]() Berula (Lesser Water-Parsnip) |
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