Parsley

Parsley is the best-known herb in German cuisine. Petroselinum crispum is a biennial herb up to 70 cm tall from the umbellifer family (Apiaceae), the greenish-yellow flowers are about 0.5 mm long, the egg-shaped fruits up to 3 × 2 mm. Flowering time - June to July,
Fruit ripening - August to September

The original distribution area of parsley was the Mediterranean region and the Canary Islands. The particularly large taproot of the root parsley variety (Petroselinum crispum subsp. tuberosum) is used as a component of soup greens.

In addition to its use as a soup green, the plant is also used as a drug in herbal medicines: Petroselini herba and Petroselini radix.

Parsley is a biennial plant with a strong root from which bare, upright stems emerge. The dark green leaves at the base of the plant are followed by the stalk and the upper distinctive, curly leaves with broad, white sheaths. The petals of the parsley are greenish-yellow in color. The fruits of the plant are 2.5 to 3 mm high and 1.5 to 2 mm wide and are egg-shaped. Between their main ribs they are dark brown, the main ribs themselves are light yellow, very thin and protrude clearly.
Petroselinum crispum is the parent plant of Petroselini herba or Petroselini radix.

Medicinal use: Petroselinum crispum is the parent plant of Fructus Petroselini the parsley fruit (also known as parsley seed).

Cosmetic use: Carum Petroselinum seed oil, the parsley seed oil, and Carum Petroselinum extract, the herb extract, are used in cosmetic preparations.

Type I sensitizations to pertersily allergens are known. They occur more frequently in the context of celery pollen syndrome. All parts of the plant have a phototoxic effect!

1. Wenigmann M. (2017) Phytotherapy medicinal drugs, phytopharmaceuticals, application. Urban & Fischer, pp. 170-171
2. https://pflanzen.fnr.de/industriepflanzen/arzneipflanzen/pflanzen-datenbank

3. Montag A (2023) Plants and skin. Springer-Verlag GmbH. pp. 795-798 . https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-63014-3_7