Apiaceae (A-D)

The parsley family in Belgium:
The Apiaceae (parsley family) occur worldwide with a clear focal point in the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere, where they are present in different habitats; in tropical regions, they grow exclusively in the mountains. They are mostly herbaceous plants. Quite characteristic of the family are their composite leaves and the flowers grouped together into umbels, to which they thank their alternative family name: Latin Umbelliferae literally means “umbrella bearers”. The individual flowers are mostly coloured but relatively small and unshowy. Many species are used by people, not because of their beauty but their pleasant taste as spices or vegetables, e.g. parsley (Petroselinum crispum), carrot (Daucus carota), and fennel (Foeniculum vulgare). Not all of them are however edible: some species rank amongst the most toxic plants in our region – e.g. hemlock (Conium maculatum) and cowbane (Cicuta virosa)! For the untrained eye, many edible and toxic plants look alike, especially when in vegetative state, that is when they bear no flowers.

The Belgian Herbarium:
Meise Botanic Garden holds the largest herbarium collection of Belgian plant specimens. Each of these herbarium specimens has a label with valuable information such as the plant’s identification, and when, where, and who collected the plant. These specimens can be used in many domains of research, such as conservation, evolution, ecology and systematics. These data help us to better understand the plants of Belgium, their history and that of people who collected them. There are about 200,000 specimens in the Belgian Herbarium of Meise Botanic Garden and we want to document them all! These data will then be made available online at www.botanicalcollections.be.

Keywords (Latin):
Belgium, Apiaceae, Herbae, Hortus Botanicus Meise, Botanica.