top navigation:

Native Plant Propagation Guidelines:
forbs

Conioselinum gmelinii (pacific hemlock-parsley)

Category: 
forbs

    

Usually hairless, sometimes glaucous, perennial from a short, stout rhizomatous stem-base with a cluster of fleshy roots or a single tap-root; single stem, leafy, 20-120 cm tall. Leaves all on the stem, egg-shaped to deltoid in outline, two to three times pinnately dissected, with lobed or cleft leaflets, leaf stalks sheathing at the base. Flowers white, small, numerous in 8-30 small compact heads in one to several compound umbels; involucral bracts one to few, linear in shape, or lacking. Fruits oblong-oval, 5-8 mm long, hairless, ribbed with the lateral ribs having broad, thin wings (Pojar and MacKinnon, 1994).

Scientific Name: 

Conioselinum gmelinii (Cham. & Schlecht.) Steud. (C. chinense auct. non [L.] B.S.P., C. chinense [L.] B.S.P. var. pacificum [S. Wats.] Boivin, C. pacificum [S. Wats.] Coult. & Rose)

Family: 
Apiaceae
English Name: 
pacific hemlock-parsley
Other Names: 

Geographical Range and Habitat Requirements

Ecological Setting: 

Common on gravelly beaches, sandy shores, upper tidal marshes, grassy bluffs and headlands, mostly along or near the coastline (Pojar and MacKinnon, 1994).

Soil Texture: 

Light textured sandy and loamy soils (Fern, 2000).

Nutrients: 
n/a
Soil Reaction and Salinity: 

Fairly wide range of soil reactions from acidic to alkaline. Can tolerate salinity (Fern, 2000).

Moisture Regime: 

Moist to wet (Fern, 2000).

Shade Tolerance: 

Shade intolerant to mildly tolerant. Requires full sun (Fern, 2000).

Successional Status: 

    

BEC Zone and GOE Community Status: 

Occurs on grassy bluffs and rocky headlands within Garry oak ecosystems.

Uses

Site Rehabilitation: 

Potential reclamation species for erosion control on moister disturbed sites.

 

Wildlife: 

Browsed by deer, elk, moose and bear. Flowers attract butterflies.

Landscaping: 

Potential garden ornamental for the moist sunny garden.

First Nations: 

Known as wild carrot or Indian carrot. Cooked and eaten historically by coastal Aboriginal Peoples, though not apparently used now. Leaves used to make a tonic for the treatment of colds and sore throats and in steam baths to treat rheumatism (Pojar and MacKinnon, 1994; Turner, 1995).

Other Uses: 
n/a

Seed Propagation

Flowering Time: 

May to August

Fruit Ripening Time: 

July to September

Seed Collection Time: 

Late summer once dark stripes are apparent on fruit.

Crop Intervals: 

Annual

Number of Seeds per Kilogram: 

167,550

Seed Viability: 

    

Fruit and Seed Collection and Extraction: 

Collect seed as soon as ripe by hand stripping. Clean by drying and fanning.

Seed Storage: 

Store in airtight containers at 2º C. Can be stored for up to three years.

Fruit/Seed Dormancy and Treatment: 

No dormancy treatments are necessary. Leach seeds in tap water for four hours before sowing. Sow stored seeds in fall or early spring. As soon as plants are large enough to handle, prick out into separate pots (Fern, 2000).

Vegetative Propagation

n/a

Outplanting Characteristics and Requirements

Seedlings can be out-planted when they reach 20 cm in height.

Seed and Cutting Propagation Techniques

No specific information exists on Conioselinum gmelinii var. pacificum but potentially useful techniques can be inferred from other Apiaceae species such as cow-parsnip (Heracleum lanatum).

Additional Information and Photos

For more information and pictures, visit the E-Flora BC website at www.eflora.bc.ca.

?>