Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-dh8gc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-16T21:52:03.891Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Wild Parsnip (Pastinaca sativa): A Troublesome Species of Increasing Concern

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Kristine M. Averill  and
Antonio DiTommaso
Kristine M. Averill
Affiliation:
Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853
Antonio DiTommaso*
Affiliation:
Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853
*
Corresponding author's E-mail: ad97@cornell.edu
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

Although many of us fondly associate parsnips with a rustic, home-cooked meal, there is also a wild variety that is increasingly causing problems as a weed in North America. The cultivated variety is a subspecies of Pastinaca sativa (Pastinaca sativa ssp. sativa) and contains lower amounts of the problematic furanocoumarins than the wild version. Wild parsnip (Pastinaca sativa L. PAVSA) is an introduced facultative biennial from Eurasia. It has spread throughout the United States and southern Canada and is now colonizing old fields, railroad embankments, roadsides, and waste areas. Wild parsnip contains furanocoumarins, which deter herbivores from eating its foliage. These compounds can also cause phytophotodermatitis in humans and livestock, a condition that results in patches of redness and blisters on the skin when they come into contact with the sap or ingest parts of the plant in the presence of sunlight. Few people, including medical professionals, recognize the plant or associate it with the burns it causes. Recently, wild parsnip has received increasing attention as expanding populations have resulted in more frequent human and livestock contact with the plant. This article reviews important aspects of the etymology, distribution, history, biology, and management of wild parsnip. A key objective of this review is to raise awareness of the potential health problems caused by wild parsnip and to stimulate research that will lead to effective management of this increasingly problematic species.

Type
Intriguing World of Weeds
Information
Weed Technology , Volume 21 , Issue 1 , March 2007 , pp. 279 - 287
Copyright
Copyright © Weed Science Society of America 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Literature Cited

Alex, J. F. 1992. Ontario Weeds. Toronto Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food Publication 505.Google Scholar
Andrews, A. C. 1958. The parsnip as a food in the classical era. Class. Philol. 53:145–152.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Arnason, J. T., Philogene, B. J. R., and Towers, G. H. N. 1992. Phototoxins in plant–insect interactions. in Rosenthal, G.A., Berenbaum, M.R., eds. Herbivores: Their Interactions with Secondary Plant Metabolites. 2nd ed. Volume 2. San Diego, CA Academic Press. 317–341.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bailey, L. H. 1951. Manual of Cultivated Plants Most Commonly Grown in the Continental United States and Canada. New York Macmillan. 1116.Google Scholar
Baskin, J. M. and Baskin, C. M. 1979. Studies on the autoecology and population biology of the weedy monocarpic perennial, Pastinaca sativa . J. Ecol. 67:601–610.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baskin, J. M. and Baskin, C. M. 1998. Seeds: Ecology, Biogeography, and Evolution of Dormancy and Germination. San Diego, CA Academic Press. 666.Google Scholar
Bell, C. R. 1971. Breeding systems and floral biology of the Umbelliferae or evidence for specialization in unspecialized flowers. in Heywood, V.H., ed. The Biology and Chemistry of the Umbelliferae. New York Academic Press. 93–107.Google Scholar
Berenbaum, M. R. 1981. Patterns of furanocoumarin production and insect herbivory in a population of wild parsnip (Pastinaca sativa L.). Oecologia 49:236–244.Google Scholar
Berenbaum, M. R. 1985. Brementown revisited: interactions among allelochemicals in plants. Recent Adv. Phytochem. 19:139–169.Google Scholar
Berenbaum, M. R. 1990. Evolution of specialization in insect–umbellifer associations. Annu. Rev. Entomol. 35:319–343.Google Scholar
Berenbaum, M. R. 1991. Coumarins. in Rosenthal, G.A., Berenbaum, M.R., eds. Herbivores: Their Interactions with Secondary Plant Metabolites. 2nd ed. Volume 1. San Diego, CA Academic Press. 221–249.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berenbaum, M. R. 1995. Phototoxicity of plant secondary metabolites: Insect and mammalian perspectives. Arch. Insect Biochem. Physiol. 29:119–134.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Berenbaum, M. R. and Zangerl, A. R. 1991. Acquisition of a native host plant by an introduced oligophagous herbivore. Oikos 62:153–159.Google Scholar
Berenbaum, M. R., Zangerl, A. R., and Nitao, J. K. 1984. Furanocoumarins in seeds of wild and cultivated parsnip. Phytochemistry 23:1809–1810.Google Scholar
Berenbaum, M. R., Zangerl, A. R., and Nitao, J. K. 1986. Constraints on chemical coevolution: wild parsnips and the parsnip webworm. Evolution 40:1215–1228.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bethea, D., Fullmer, B., Syed, S., Seltzer, G., Tiano, J., Rischko, C., Gillespie, L., Brown, D., and Gasparro, F. P. 1999. Psoralen photobiology and photochemotherapy: 50 years of science and medicine. J. Dermatol. Sci. 19:78–88.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bicchi, C., DiAmato, A., Frattini, C., Cappelletti, E., Caniato, R., and Filippini, R. 1990. Chemical diversity of the contents from the secretory structures of Heracleum sphondylium ssp. sphondylium . Phytochemistry 6:1883–1887.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bridges, D. C., eds. 1992. Crop Losses Due to Weeds in the United States—1992. Champaign, IL Weed Science Society.Google Scholar
Büchen-Osmond, C. 2002. The universal virus database of the international committee on taxonomy of viruses. Columbia University: Web page: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ICTVdb/index.htm. Accessed March 22, 2006.Google Scholar
Clapham, A. R., Tutin, T. G., and Warburg, E. F. 1962. Flora of the British Isles. 2nd ed. Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press. 1269.Google Scholar
Cohen, M. B., Berenbaum, M. R., and Schuler, M. A. 1989. Induction of cytochrome P450-mediated metabolism of xanthotoxin in the black swallowtail. J. Chem. Ecol. 15:2347–2356.Google Scholar
Cruden, R. W. and Hermann-Parker, S. M. 1977. Temporal dioecism: An alternative to dioecism? Evolution 31:863–866.Google ScholarPubMed
Darbyshire, S. J. 2003. Inventory of Canadian Agricultural Weeds. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Research Branch: Web page: http://res2.agr.ca/CRECO/weeds_herbes/fam73_e.htm. Accessed March 22, 2006.Google Scholar
Downie, S. R., Ramanath, S., Katz-Downie, D. S., and Llanas, E. 1998. Molecular systematics of Apiaceae subfamily Apioideae: phylogenetic analyses of nuclear ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacer and plastid rpoC1 intron sequences. Am. J. Bot. 85:563–591.Google Scholar
Drude, C. G. O. 1897–1898. Umbelliferae. in Engler, A., Prantl, K., eds. Die natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien. Vol.3. Leipzig, Germany Wilhelm Engelmann. 63–250.Google Scholar
Eckardt, N. Element stewardship abstract for Pastinaca sativa. 2006. The Nature Conservancy: Web page: http://tncweeds.ucdavis.edu/esadocs/pastsati.html. Accessed: March 22, 2006.Google Scholar
Fernald, M. L. 1950. Gray's Manual of Botany. 8th ed. New York D. Van Nostrand. 1632.Google Scholar
Foster, S. and Duke, J. A. 1990. A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. New York Houghton Mifflin. 366.Google Scholar
French, D. H. 1971. Ethnobotany of the Umbelliferae. in Heywood, V.H., ed. The Biology and Chemistry of the Umbelliferae. New York Academic Press. 385–412.Google Scholar
Gleason, H. A. and Cronquist, A. 1991. Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada. 2nd ed. New York New York Botanical Garden. 910.Google Scholar
Gorder, N. K. N. and Mertins, J. W. 1984. Life history of the parsnip webworm Depressaria pastinacella (Lepidoptera: Oecophoridae), in central Iowa. Ann. Entomol. Soc. Am. 77:568–573.Google Scholar
Gross, K. L. 1981. Predictions of fate from rosette size in four “biennial” plant species: Verbascum thapsus, Oenothera biennis, Daucus carota, Tragopogon dubius . Oecologia (Berlin) 48:209–213.Google Scholar
Gross, K. L. and Werner, P. A. 1982. Colonizing abilities of “biennial” plant species in relation to ground cover: implications for their distribution in a successional sere. Ecology 63:921–931.Google Scholar
Haragan, P. D. 1991. Weeds of Kentucky and Adjacent States: A Field Guide. Lexington, KY The University Press of Kentucky. 278.Google Scholar
Harper, J. L. and Ogden, J. 1970. The reproductive strategy of higher plants. I. The concept of strategy with special reference to Senecio vulgaris L. J. Ecol. 58:681–698.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harrewijn, P., Minks, A. K., and Mollema, C. 1994. Evolution of plant volative production in insect–plant relationships. Chemoecology 5/6:55–73.Google Scholar
Hedrick, U. P., eds. 1919. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. New York Department of Agriculture Annual Report 27, Vol. 2. (Reprinted in 1972 as: New York, NY: Dover Publications. 686p.).Google Scholar
Hendrix, S. D. 1984. Variation in seed weight and its effects on germination in Pastinaca sativa L. (Umbelliferae). Am. J. Bot. 71:795–802.Google Scholar
Hendrix, S. D., Nielsen, E., Nielsen, T., and Schutt, M. 1991. Are seedlings from small seeds always inferior to seedlings from large seeds? Effects of seed biomass on seedling growth in Pastinaca sativa L. New Phytol. 119:299–305.Google Scholar
Hendrix, S. D. and Trapp, E. J. 1992. Population demography of Pastinaca sativa (Apiaceae): Effects of seed mass on emergence, survival, and recruitment. Am. J. Bot. 79:365–375.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Herrmann, J. J., Roenigk, H. H. Jr, Hurria, A., Kuzel, T. M., Samuelson, E., Rademaker, A. W., and Rosen, S. T. 1995. Treatment of mycosis fungoides with photochemotherapy (PUVA): long-term follow-up. J. Am. Acad. Dermatol. 33:234–242.Google Scholar
Hiroe, M. 1958. Umbelliferae of Asia (Excluding Japan) No.1. Kyoto Kyoto University. 219.Google Scholar
Hoffman, R. and Kearns, K., eds. 1997. Wisconsin Manual of Control Recommendations for Ecologically Invasive Plants. Madison, WI Wisconsin Dept. Natural Resources. 102.Google Scholar
Holt, B. R. 1972. Effect of arrival time on recruitment, mortality, and reproduction in successional plant populations. Ecology 53:668–673.Google Scholar
Holm, L. G., Pancho, J. V., Herberger, J. P., and Plunkett, D. L. 1979. A Geographical Atlas of World Weeds. New York Wiley. 391.Google Scholar
Ivie, G. W. 1978. Toxicological significance of plant furocoumarins. in Keeler, R.F., Van Kampen, K.R., James, L.F., eds. Effects of Poisonous Plants on Livestock. New York Academic Press. 475–485.Google Scholar
Ivie, G. W., Holt, D. L., and Ivey, M. C. 1981. Natural toxicants in human foods: psoralens in raw and cooked parsnip root. Science 213:909–910.Google Scholar
Jackson, G. 1933. A study of the carpophore of the umbelliferae. Am. J. Bot. 20:121–144.Google Scholar
Jaques, H. E. 1959. How to Know the Weeds. Dubuque, IA Wm. C. Brown Co. 230.Google Scholar
Jongejans, E. and Telenius, A. 2001. Field experiments on seed dispersal by wind in ten umbelliferous species (Apiaceae). Plant Ecol. 152:67–78.Google Scholar
Keeler, K. H., Turner, C. E., and Bolick, M. R. 1996. Movement of crop transgenes into wild plants. in Duke, S.O., ed. Herbicide-Resistant Crops: Agricultural, Economic, Environmental, Regulatory, and Technological Aspects. Boca Raton, FL CRC Press. 303–330.Google Scholar
Kenji, N. J. 1987. Adaptations to furanocoumarins of Pastinaca sativa by Depressaria pastinacella (Lepidoptera: Oecophoridae). Ph.D. dissertation. University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL. 106.Google Scholar
Kennay, J. and Fell, G. 1990. Vegetation management guideline: wild parsnip (Pastinaca sativa L.). Illinois Nature Preserves Commission: Web page: http://www.inhs.uiuc.edu/chf/outreach/VMG/parsnip.html. Accessed March 22, 2006.Google Scholar
Klaber, R. 1942. Phyto-photodermatitis. Brit. J. Dermatol. Syph. 54:193.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kline, V. M. 1986. Effects of mowing on wild parsnip: six year study (Wisconsin). Restor. Manage. Notes 4:82–83.Google Scholar
Lee, K. 1989. Enzymatic defenses against plant phototoxins in phytophagous insects. Ph.D. dissertation. University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL. 147.Google Scholar
Lorenzi, H. J. and Jeffrey, L. S. 1987. Weeds of the United States and Their Control. New York Van Nostrand Reinhold. 355.Google Scholar
Menemen, Y. and Jury, S. L. 2001. A taxonomic revision of the genus Pastinaca L. (Umbelliferae)Isr. J. Plant Sci. 49:67–77.Google Scholar
Mulligan, G. A. 1987. Common Weeds of Canada, Field Guide. Toronto New Canada Publications. 143.Google Scholar
Nitao, J. K. 1990. Metabolism and excretion of xanthotoxin by the parsnip webworm, Depressaria pastinacella . J. Chem. Ecol. 16:417–428.Google Scholar
Nitao, J. K. and Zangerl, A. R. 1987. Floral development and chemical defense allocation in wild parsnip (Pastinaca sativa). Ecology 68:521–529.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
OEPP/EPPO 1994. EPPO Standard Pp 2/1(1) Guideline on good plant protection practice: Umbelliferous crops. Bulletin OEPP/EPPO Bulletin 24:233–240.Google Scholar
Rubatzky, V. E., Quiros, C. F., and Simon, P. W. 1999. Carrots and related vegetable Umbelliferae. New York CABI Publishing. 294.Google Scholar
Schery, R. W. 1972. Plants for Man, 2nd ed. Englewood Cliffs, NJ Prentice Hall. 657.Google Scholar
Somner, T. G. and Jillson, O. F. 1967. Phytophotodermatitis gas plant and the wild parsnip. New Engl. J. Med. 276:1484.Google Scholar
Stern, R. S., Nichols, K. T., and Vakeva, L. H. 1997. Malignant melanoma in patients treated for psoriasis with methoxsalen (psoralen) and ultraviolet A radiation (PUVA). New Engl. J. Med. 336:1041–1045.Google Scholar
Sternberg, M., Brown, V. K., Masters, G. J., and Clarke, I. P. 1999. Plant community dynamics in a calcareous grassland under climate change manipulations. Plant Ecol. 143:29–37.Google Scholar
Stubbendieck, J., Friisoe, G. Y., and Bolick, M. R. 1994. Weeds of Nebraska and the Great Plains. Lincoln, NE Nebraska Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Plant Industry. 589.Google Scholar
Theobald, W. L. 1971. Comparative anatomical and developmental studies in the Umbelliferae. in Heywood, V.H., ed. The Biology and Chemistry of the Umbelliferae. New York Academic Press. 177–197.Google Scholar
Tutin, T. G. 1980. Umbellifers of the British Isles. London Botanical Society of the British Isles. 197.Google Scholar
Tutin, T. G., Heywood, V. H., Burges, N. A., Moore, D. M., Valentine, D. H., Walters, S. M., and Webb, D. A., eds. 1968. Flora Europaea. Vol.2. London Cambridge University Press. 455.Google Scholar
USDA ARS [United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service] 2006. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory: Web page: http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/tax_search.pl?pastinaca+sativa. Accessed March 22, 2006.Google Scholar
USDA NRCS 2006. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service. The PLANTS Database, Version 3.5. National Plant Data Center: Web page: http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=PASA2. Accessed: March 22, 2006.Google Scholar
Zangerl, A. R. 1990. Furanocoumarin induction in wild parsnip: evidence for an induced defense against herbivores. Ecology 71:1926–1932.Google Scholar
Zangerl, A. R. and Berenbaum, M. R. 1987. Furanocoumarins in wild parsnip: effects of photosynthetically active radiation, ultraviolet light, and nutrients. Ecology 68:516–520.Google Scholar
Zangerl, A. R. and Berenbaum, M. R. 1990. Furanocoumarin induction in wild parsnip: genetics and population variation. Ecology 71:1933–1940.Google Scholar
Zangerl, A. R. and Berenbaum, M. R. 1993. Plant chemistry, insect adaptations to plant chemistry, and host plant utilization patterns. Ecology 74:47–54.Google Scholar
Zangerl, A. R. and Berenbaum, M. R. 1997. Cost of chemically defending seeds: furanocoumarins and Pastinaca sativa . Am. Nat. 150:491–504.Google Scholar
Zangerl, A. R., Berenbaum, M. R., and Nitao, J. K. 1991. Parthenocarpic fruits in wild parsnip: decoy defense against a specialist herbivore. Evol. Ecol. 5:136–145.Google Scholar
Zangerl, A. R., Green, E. S., Lampan, R. L., and Berenbaum, M. R. 1997. Phenological changes in primary and secondary chemistry of reproductive parts in wild parsnip. Phytochemistry 44:825–831.Google Scholar
Zangerl, A. R., Hamilton, J. G., Miller, T. J., Crofts, A. R., Oxborough, K., Berenbaum, M. R., and deLucia, E. H. 2002. Impact of folivory on photosynthesis is greater than the sum of its holes. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 99:1088–1091.Google Scholar
Zomlefer, W. B. 1994. Guide to Flowering Plant Families. Chapel Hill, NC The University of North Carolina Press. 430.Google Scholar