THE UMBELLIFERJE. 155 



deadly poisons, as hemlock, water-parsnip, and fool's- 

 parsley. These poisonous species so strongly resem- 

 ble esculent ones that only botanists can distinguish 

 them, and many persons have made the fatal mistake 

 of eating their roots. But the carrot, parsnip, parsley, 

 celery, lovage, caraway, coriander, etc., are common 

 cultivated species of this order, and none of the species 

 are poison to the touch. 



In your rambles you will be likely to find a large, 

 coarse-looking, hairy or woolly, strong-scented plant, 

 three or four feet high, which grows in moist, culti- 

 vated grounds, from Pennsylvania to Labrador, and 

 west to Oregon. It has a thick, furrowed stem, ter- 

 nate leaves, with large, channelled, clasping petioles, 

 and blossoms in June, bearing huge umbels, often a 



FIG. 309. 



foot broad. It is a species of cow-parsnip, sometimes 

 called masterwort. Its flowers have white, deeply- 

 heart-shaped petals. As its parts are comparatively 

 large, the flower of this plant is here chosen to ex- 

 hibit the peculiarities of the order. In Fig. 309 it 



