Parsley

This article is about the herb. For the British children's television character, see Parsley the Lion. For the American televangelist, see Rod Parsley.

Garden Parsley
Parsley leaves, Neapolitanum Group
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Asterids
Order:	Apiales
Family:	Apiaceae
Genus:	Petroselinum
Species:	P. crispum
Binomial name
Petroselinum crispum (Mill.) Fuss
Synonyms
Apium crispum Mill. Apium petroselinum L.

Parsley (Petroselinum hortense) is a species of Petroselinum in the family Apiaceae, native to the central Mediterranean region (southern Italy, Algeria and Tunisia), naturalized elsewhere in Europe, and widely cultivated as an herb, a spice and a vegetable.

Description

Parsley leaves

Garden parsley is a bright green, hairless, biennial, herbaceous plant in temperate climates, or an annual herb in subtropical and tropical areas.

Where it grows as a biennial, in the first year, it forms a rosette of tripinnate leaves 10–25 cm long with numerous 1–3 cm leaflets, and a taproot used as a food store over the winter. In the second year, it grows a flowering stem to 75 cm tall with sparser leaves and flat-topped 3–10 cm diameter umbels with numerous 2 mm diameter yellow to yellowish-green flowers. The seeds are ovoid, 2–3mm long, with prominent style remnants at the apex. One of the compounds of the essential oil is apiol. The plant normally dies after seed maturation.

Cultivation

Parsley (raw)

Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy	151 kJ (36 kcal)
Carbohydrates	6.3 g
- Sugars	0.9 g
- Dietary fibre	3.3 g
Fat	0.8 g
Protein	3.0 g
Thiamine (vit. B1)	0.1 mg (9%)
Riboflavin (vit. B2)	0.2 mg (17%)
Niacin (vit. B3)	1.3 mg (9%)
Pantothenic acid (B5)	0.4 mg (8%)
Vitamin B6	0.1 mg (8%)
Folate (vit. B9)	152 μg (38%)
Vitamin C	133.0 mg (160%)
Vitamin K	1640.0 μg (1562%)
Calcium	138.0 mg (14%)
Iron	6.2 mg (48%)
Magnesium	50.0 mg (14%)
Phosphorus	58.0 mg (8%)
Potassium	554 mg (12%)
Zinc	1.1 mg (12%)
Percentages are relative to US recommendations for adults. Source: USDA Nutrient Database

Parsley grows best in moist, well drained soil, with full sun. It grows best between 22–30 °C, and is usually grown from seed. Germination is slow, taking four to six weeks, and often difficult because of furanocoumarins in its seed coat. Plants grown for the leaf crop are typically spaced 10 cm apart, while those grown as a root crop are typically spaced 20 cm apart to allow for the root development.

Parsley attracts some wildlife. Some swallowtail butterflies use parsley as a host plant for their larvae; their caterpillars are black and green striped with yellow dots, and will feed on parsley for two weeks before turning into butterflies. Bees and other nectar-feeding insects visit the flowers. Birds such as the goldfinch feed on the seeds.

Cultivars

Parsley plant, crispum group

In cultivation, parsley is subdivided into several cultivar groups depending on the form of the plant, which is related to its end use. These are often treated as botanical varieties, but are cultivated selections, not of natural botanical origin.

Leaf parsley

The two main groups of parsley used as herbs are curly leaf (i.e.) (P. crispum crispum group; syn. P. crispum var. crispum) and Italian, or flat leaf (P. crispum neapolitanum group; syn. P. crispum var. neapolitanum); of these, the neapolitanum group more closely resembles the natural wild species. Flat-leaved parsley is preferred by some as it easier to cultivate, being more tolerant of both rain and sunshine, and has a stronger flavor (though this is disputed), while curly leaf parsley is preferred by others because of its more decorative appearance in garnishing. A third type, sometimes grown in southern Italy, has thick, celery-like leaf stems.

Root parsley

Root parsley

Another type of parsley is grown as a root vegetable, the Hamburg root parsley (P. crispum radicosum group, syn. P. crispum var. tuberosum). This type of parsley produces much thicker roots than types cultivated for their leaves. Although seldom used in Britain and the United States, root parsley is very common in central and eastern European cuisine, where it is used in soups and stews.

Though root parsley looks similar to the parsnip, it tastes quite different. Parsnips are among the closest relatives of parsley in the family Apiaceae, but the similarity of the names is a coincidence, parsnip meaning "forked turnip"; it is not closely related to real turnips.

Companion plant

Parsley is widely used as a companion plant in gardens. Like many other members of the carrot family (umbellifers), it attracts predatory insects, including wasps and predatory flies to gardens, which then tend to protect plants nearby. For example, they are especially useful for protecting tomato plants as the wasps that kill tomato hornworms also eat nectar from parsley.^{[citation needed]} It offers protection even in its first year as the strong scent of the parsley leaves appear to mingle with the tomato scent and confuses the tomato moth.^{[citation needed]}

Culinary use

Parsley salad

Freeze-dried parsley

Parsley is widely used in Middle Eastern, European, and American cooking. Curly leaf parsley is often used as a garnish. In central and eastern Europe and in western Asia, many dishes are served with fresh green chopped parsley sprinkled on top. Green parsley is often used as a garnish on potato dishes (boiled or mashed potatoes), on rice dishes (risotto or pilaf), on fish, fried chicken, lamb or goose, steaks, meat or vegetable stews (like beef bourguignon, goulash or chicken paprikash).

In southern and central Europe, parsley is part of bouquet garni, a bundle of fresh herbs used as an ingredient in stocks, soups, and sauces. Freshly chopped green parsley is used as a topping for soups such as chicken soup, green salads or salads such as salade Olivier, and on open sandwiches with cold cuts or pâtés. Parsley is a key ingredient in several Middle Eastern salads such as tabbouleh. Persillade is a mixture of chopped garlic and chopped parsley used in French cuisine. Gremolata is a traditional accompaniment to the Italian veal stew, ossobuco alla milanese, a mixture of parsley, garlic, and lemon zest.

Root parsley is very common in central and eastern European cuisines, where it is used as a vegetable in many soups, stews and casseroles.

Biological activity

• Apigenin, a chemical found in great quantities in parsley, has been found to have potent anticancer activity. It works by inhibiting the formation of new blood vessels that feed a tumor.
• Parsley seed extract appears to increase diuresis by inhibiting the Na+/K+-ATPase pump in the kidney, thereby enhancing sodium and water excretion while increasing potassium reabsorption.
• When chewed, parsley is commonly believed to freshen bad breath, especially from eating garlic. However, some people regard this as a myth; it is no more effective than chewing any other substance (such as chewing gum).
• Parsley is a source of phytochemicals, such as carotenoids, which are known to exert various biological effects.
• The methanolic extract of parsley is antimicrobial.
• Parsley seed extract can reduce blood pressure, possibly due to its diuretic effects.
• Polyacetylenes can be found in Apiaceae vegetables like parsley where they show cytotoxic activities.

Health Questions

Parsley should not be consumed in excess by pregnant women. It is safe in normal food quantities, but large amounts can have uterotonic effects.

Kidney controversy

Parsley has become a popular herbal remedy for kidney stones, especially parsley tea. One explanation is that it's high in vitamins A, B, and C.

Unfortunately, this is highly controversial, because parsley also contains oxalates, that can cause kidney stones, and also vitamin C, too much of which can cause the body to create its own oxalates.

Etymology

The word "parsley" is a merger of the Old English petersilie (which is identical to the contemporary German word for parsley: Petersilie) and the Old French peresil, both derived from Medieval Latin petrosilium, from Latin petroselinum, the latinisation of the Greek πετροσέλινον (petroselinon), "rock-parsley", from πέτρα (petra), "rock, stone", + σέλινον (selinon), "parsley". The earliest attested form of the word selinon is the Mycenaean Greek se-ri-no, written in Linear B syllabic script.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first known use of the form parsley (as opposed to the older petrosili form) was in William Langland's 1376 work Piers Plowman, where he refers to "persely".

The species authorship is commonly cited as Petroselinum crispum (Mill.) Nyman ex A.W. Hill, a combination published in 1925, but the same name was used earlier (1866) by Fuss, making (Mill.) Fuss the correct author citation.

Gallery

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  Flat-leaved parsley

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  Flat-leaved parsley flower

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  Flat-leaved parsley white flower

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  Immature seeds

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  Flat-leaved parsley flower-Flor de perejil

See also

• List of culinary herbs and spices
• List of culinary vegetables
• List of plants with edible leaves
• Apium virus Y

References

 Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Parsley". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.