THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 
33 
innocuous, as with celery or fennel, by bleaching. But it must 
always be had in mind that this is a dangerous family where- 
with it is unsafe to recklessly experiment. Two of its genera, 
say Aethusa and Petroselinum may be growing side by side, 
the first ''a fetid poisonous herb", the second, freely used on 
our tables, though mainly as a decorative trimming. 
Parsley, by the way has some curious associations with 
folk-lore. Sa3^s Lindley, "it has ever been an object of super- 
stitious observances; for besides its being the assigned plant 
from beneath which came our brothers and sisters, we remem- 
ber how it was always considered such ill luck to transplant 
it, that but few people could be got to perform such an act. 
It is thought probable that this plant was dedicated to Perse- 
phone, as Queen of the Dead, presuming her to be identical 
with Hecate or Selene, the resemblance of its Greek name 
(Selinon) to that of the last-named divinity at once suggesting 
its direct derivation from her." 
Umhelliferae are closely allied with the Araliaceae, which 
include our ginsengs and sarsaparilla. These plants differ 
only in their fruits, which are usually fleshy and often poly- 
carpellary, whereas, as we shall see anon, the Umbellifers, 
as a rule, have but two, dry carpels, forming together the 
familiar Schizocarp of that order. In some marked features, 
they also approach the dogwoods or Cornels. 
The plants of this family are markedly of north temper- 
ate range, and are especially characteristic of the Mediterran- 
ean region and Central Asia. As regards height, they appear 
to reach their acme in Kamtschatha, where they are almost 
arboreus in habit. To those who know our great cow-parsnip 
(Heracletim lanatum), it is not difficult to conceive plants of 
this type reaching gigantic dimensions. In such case, with 
their ample foliage and immense, broad umbels, they are strik- 
ing features of the steppe landscape. 
Let us now consider their structural characteristics. Usu- 
