The anthers, maturing first, compel
cross-fertilization which accounts for the plant's vigor and its
aggressive march across the continent. A very stout, ridged,
hairy stem, the petioled leaves compounded of three broadly
ovate, lobed and saw-edged divisions, downy on the underside, and
the great umbels, which sometimes measure a foot across, all bear
out the general impression of a Hercules of the fields.
FOOL'S PARSLEY, or CICELY, or DOG-POISON (Aethusa cynapium), a
European immigrant found in waste ground and rubbish heaps from
Nova Scotia to New Jersey and westward to the Mississippi, should
be known only to be avoided. The dark bluish-green, finely
divided, rather glossy leaves when bruised do not give out the
familiar fragrance of true parsley; the little narrow bracts,
turned downward around each separate flower-cluster, give it a
bearded appearance, otherwise the white umbel suggests a small
wild carrot head of bloom. Cows have died from eating this
innocent-looking little plant among the herbage; but most
creatures know by instinct that it must not be touched.
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