Apiaceae

Plant Sex: Flowers bisexual or unisexual (plants polygamous or dioecious).

Flowers: Actinomorphic. Sepals small (often appearing absent). Style base swollen, called a STYLOPODIUM. Inferior ovary of two carpels, each with one pendulous ovule.

Inflorescence: Umbels, either simple or more commonly compound.

Fruits: Schizocarps or two ribbed mericarps connected by a CARPOPHORE. Oil tubes present.

Habit: Biennial or perennial herbs with hollow stems. Often aromatic

Leaves: Alternate, pinnately compound (peltate in Hydrocotyle) with sheathing petioles.

Examples:
Food, herbs & spices

Anethum

A. graveolens (dill). Flowering shoot. Leaves. Inflorescence. Fruits of dill (Anethum), fennel (Foeniculum), celery (Apium), and cumin (Cuminum).

Apium

A. graveolens (celery). Plants in cultivation. Celery in flower.

Chaerophyllum

C. procumbens (chervil). Habit of plants in flower. Flowers and young fruits.

Daucus

D. carota (carrot, queen Anne's lace). Habit of plant in flower. Inflorescence. Infructescence.

Poisonous plants
Conium

C. maculatum (poison hemlock). Plants bordering a soybean field in Illinois. Closer view of the plant. Typical purple blotched stem. Flowers.

Cicuta

C. maculata (poison water hemlock). Habit of plant growing near SIUC campus lake. Inflorescence. Shoots with flowers and young fruits.

Pastinaca

P. sativa (wild parsnip). Habit of plant in flower. Painting of plant from Thome (1903). Dermatitis from wild parsnip. Infructescence.

Wildflowers
Eryngium

E. yuccafolium (rattlesnake master). Habit of plant. Flowering shoot. Inflorescence. Inflorescence L.S. Flowers, some in L.S. Fruits.
E. bourgatii. A beautiful species from Spain.

Hydrocotyle

H. verticillata (pennywort). Habit of potted plant. Leaves and inflorescences. Flowers. Flower L.S. Infructescence. Fruit.

Osmorhiza

O. longistyla (sweet cicely). Habit of plants in flower. Flowering shoot. Carpellate (top) and staminate (bottom) flowers. Infructescence with young fruits developing.

Zizia

Z. aurea (golden alexanders). Habit of plant in flower in a prairie habitat. Inflorescence. Shoot with leaves and young fruis. Young infructescence.

SIUC / College of Science / Elements of Plant Systematics
URL: http://www.plantbiology.siu.edu/PLB304/Lecture23Apial/Apiaceae.html
Last updated: 29-Mar-08 / dln