What is "water parsnip"

Water parsnip \Wa"ter pars"nip\ (Bot.) Any plant of the aquatic umbelliferous genus Sium, poisonous herbs with pinnate or dissected leaves and small white flowers.

Parsnip \Pars"nip\ (p[aum]rs"n[i^]p), n. [OE. parsnepe, from a French form, fr. L. pastinaca; cf. pastinare to dig up, pastinum a kind of dibble; cf. OF. pastenade, pastenaque.] (Bot.) The aromatic and edible spindle-shaped root of the cultivated form of the Pastinaca sativa, a biennial umbelliferous plant which is very poisonous in its wild state; also, the plant itself.

Cow parsnip. See Cow parsnip.

Meadow parsnip, the European cow parsnip.

Poison parsnip, the wild stock of the parsnip.

Water parsnip, any plant of the umbelliferous genus Sium, the species of which are poisonous.

n. stout white-flowered perennial found wild in shallow fresh water; northern United States and Asia [syn: Sium suave]

Water parsnip is a common name given to a number of flowering plants in the Apiaceae family, including those from the Berula and Sium genera.

• Berula

:* Berula erecta, cutleaf water parsnip or water parsnip

• Sium

:* Sium latifolium, greater water parsnip, or water parsnip

:* Sium suave, or water parsnip