Parsnip

Parsnip (Pastinaca), a genus of plants of the natural order Umbelliferae, having compound umbels with neither general nor partial involucre; yellow flowers, with roundish, involute, sharp-pointed petals; calyx almost without teeth; fruit dorsally compressed and flat, with a broad border, the ridges very fine. The species are annual, biennial, or perennial herbs, with carrot-like, often fleshy roots and pinnate leaves. The Common Parsnip (P. sativa) is a native of England, although not of Scotland, and is abundant in some districts, particularly in chalky and gravelly soils. It is also found in many parts of Europe and of the north of Asia. It is a biennial, with angular furrowed stem, 2 to 3 feet high, pinnate leaves with ovate leaflets, rather shining, cut and serrated, and a three-lobed terminal leaflet. The root of the wild plant is white, aromatic, mucilaginous, sweet, but with some acridness; and injurious effects have followed from its use. Cultivation has greatly modified the qualities both of the root and foliage, rendering them much more bland. The parsnip has long been cultivated for the sake of its root, which in cultivation has greatly increased in size and become more fleshy. The flavour is disliked by some, as well as the too great sweetness, but highly relished by others; and the root of the parsnip is more nutritious than that of the carrot. The produce is also on many soils of larger quantity; and although the parsnip delights in a very open rich soil, it will succeed in clayey soils far too stiff for the carrot. It is rather remarkable that it has not been extensively cultivated as a field-crop, and for the feeding of cattle, except in the Channel Islands and in limited districts of continental Europe, more especially as cattle are very fond of it; and not only is the flesh of cattle fed on it of excellent quality, but the butter of dairy-cows fed on parsnips in winter is said by many to be superior to that produced by almost any other kind of winter-feeding. The mode of cultivation of the parsnip scarcely differs from that of the carrot. There are several varieties in cultivation. A very large variety called coquaine, cultivated in the Channel Islands on deep sandy soils, has roots sometimes 3 or 4 feet long; but this is fully twice the ordinary length, and there is a smaller turnip-rooted variety sometimes cultivated in gardens where the soil is very shallow. The parsnip is used chiefly in winter, whether for the table or for feeding cattle. It is improved rather than injured by frost, but is apt to become rusty if allowed to remain too long in the ground, and exhibits acrid qualities after it has begun to grow again in spring. The root of the parsnip is much used in the north of Ireland for making a fermented liquor with yeast and hops, and both in England and Ireland for making parsnip wine. A spirit is also obtained from it similar to that of the potato. Another species, the Cut-leaved Parsnip or Sekakul (P. Sekakul), having pinnatifid cut leaflets, a native of India, Syria, and Egypt, is cultivated in the Levant, and is very similar in its uses to the common parsnip.