764 
PAS T I N A C A. 
According to Linnteus, the ftem is fmooth and even, a 
foot and a half high and more. Leaves cordate, fometimes 
lohed, ftiffifli, wrinkled, fhining, acutely notched or fer¬ 
rate. Petals yellow, entire, acute, bent in. Native of 
the fouth of Europe. Introduced in 1771, by Monf. 
Richard. It flowers in June and July. 
2. Paftrnaca fativa, or common parfnep : leaves Ample, 
pinnate. Of this there are two varieties. 
a.. P. fylveftris, the wild parfnep, has a biennial, Am¬ 
ple, whitifti root, putting forth forne large flbres from 
the Ade. Stem Angle, three or four feet high, ereft, 
rigid, angular, pubefcent, hollow, branched. Leaves 
alternate, fmaller than thofe of the garden-parfnep, and 
of a darker green ; in open Atuations pubefcent, efpe- 
cially the root-leaves. Flowering-branches come out 
from the axils of the leaves from top to bottom, fupport- 
ing umbels which are fmaller than that which terminates 
the ftem. Flowers fmall, yellow, with inflex regular pe¬ 
tals. Wild parfnep is native of molt parts of Europe, 
on the borders of ploughed Adds and on the banks of 
hedges, chiefly in a calcareous or marly foil. It flowers 
f rom the end of June through Auguft. 
( 3 . P. fativa, or garden-parfnep, has fmooth leaves, of a 
light oryellowifh green colour; in which it differs from 
the wild plant. The ftalks alfo rife higher, and are deep¬ 
er channelled ; the peduncles are much longer, and the 
flowers of a deeper yellow colour. The roots are fweeter 
than carrots, and are much eaten by thofe who abftain 
from animal-food in Lent, or eat fait fifh on faff-days : 
they are highly nutritious. In the north of Ireland they 
are brewed, inftead of malt, with hops, and fermented 
with yeaft. The liquor thus obtained is agreeable. 
Flogs are fond of theie roots, and quickly grow fat with 
th em. 
Old Gerarde fays, “ There is a good and pleafant food 
or bread made of the roots of parfneps, as my friend 
Mailer Plat hath fet forth in his book of experiments.” 
It is afferted, fays Ray, by fome of our writers, that the 
roots, when old, bring on delirium and madnefs, and 
hence are called mudneps. Parkinfon, after informing 
us, that the feed ripens the fecond year after fowing, 
adds; “if they do flower the flrft year, the countrey 
people call them madde ncepes." The feeds contain an ef- 
iential oil, and will often cure intermittent fevers. The 
feeds ufed in medicine fiiould be thofe of the wild plant; 
but the druggifts commonly fell the feeds of the garden 
kind for it, which they purchafe at/an eafy price w hen it 
is too old to grow. Villars fays, that they have twm re¬ 
markable varieties of the wild parfnep in Dauphine : one 
with an angular branched ftem approaching very near to 
the garden parfnep ; the other with a Ample round ftem, 
very ilightly liriated, and receding fo far from the culti¬ 
vated plant, that it feems to be a diftindt fpecies. 
3. Paftinaca opopanax, or rough parfnep : leaves pin¬ 
nate and bipinnate, leaflets gafhed at the bafe in front. 
Root perennial, as thick as the human arm, yellow, 
branched ; the branches an inch or an inch and a half in 
thicknefs, a foot and a half in length, tubercled, with a 
corky bark. Stem from three feet to the height of a man, 
the thicknefs of a Anger, liriated, covered at the bafe 
with fcariofe membranaceous Icales, like the ferns 5 in 
other parts very fmooth and fhining ; angular at top, ef- 
pecially at the branches. Primary (or root) leaves quite 
Ample, cordate, acutely cremate; the others ternate or 
quinate, with the end leaflet always cordate and very 
large; the lateral ones obliquely cordate, with the up¬ 
per lobe fhorter. The low'eft item-leaves more compound, 
confldered as a whole triangular, two feet long, bipin¬ 
nate, having flve pinnules on each Ade ; the lowed pinna 
pinnate, commonly with five leaflets, the end one cor¬ 
date, the reft leflife and obliquely cordate: the leaflets 
are an inch to two inches' long; the other pinnules are 
flrft ternate, then Ample. The other ftem leaves decreale, 
and are flrft quinate, next ternate, and at the branches 
Ample. Fruits flat, with the rim thicker, three or 
four lines in diameter, and a little longer. Juice 
yellow, bearing no marks of a reflnous ,or aromatic 
principle. This juice flows out where either the leaf 
or ftalk is broken. They are both very rough; the 
former dark green, the latter feven or eight feet high. 
The ftalks divide towards the top into many horizontal 
branches, each terminated by a large umbel of yellow 
flowers. They appear in July. Native of the fouth of 
Europe, fouth of France, Italy, and Sicily. Cultivated 
in 1731 by Mr. Miller. 
This plant commonly ripens its feeds with us, and its 
juice manifefts fome of the qualities difcovered in the 
officinal opopanax : but it is only in the warmer regions 
of the eaft, where this plant is alfo a native, that the 
juice concretes into this gum-refln. It is obtained by 
means of inciflons made at the bottom of the ftalk ; ami 
is imported from Turkey and the Eaft Indies fometimes 
in little round drops or tears, but more commonly in ir¬ 
regular lamps, of a reddifh-yellow colour, fpecked with 
white on the outflde ; internally paler, and frequently 
variegated with large white pieces. This gum-refln has 
a ltrong difagreeabie frnell, and a bitter, acrid, fome- 
what naufeous, tafte. It readily forms a milky liquor 
with water by rubbing; and this on (landing depofits a 
portion of reflnous matter, and becomes yellowifh : to 
rectified fpirit it yields a gold-coloured tindture, which 
taftes and fmells itrongly of the drug. Water diftilied 
from it is impregnated with its fmell, but no eflential 
oil is obtained on committing moderate quantities to the 
operation. Opopanax has been long efteemed for its at¬ 
tenuating, deobftruent, and aperient, virtues; but, as it 
is commonly prefcribed in combination with other me¬ 
dicines, thefe qualities are by no means afcertained, nor 
do its fenflble qualities indicate it to be a medicine of 
much power. Dr. Cullen clafles it with the anti-fpaf- 
modics; it is however lefs fetid than galbanum, though 
more fo than ammoniacum. It has commonly been given 
in hypochondriacal affections, vifceral obftructions, men- 
ftrual fuppreffions, and afthmas, efpecially when connected 
with a phlegmatic habit of body. 
Propagation and Culture. The parfnep is cultivated is? 
kitchen-gardens, the roots being large, fweet, and ac¬ 
counted very nourilhing. It is propagated by feeds, which 
(hould be fown in February or March, in a rich mellow 
foil, well dug, that their roots may run downwards, the 
greateft excellency being the length and bignefs of the 
roots. Thefe may be fown alone, or with carrots, as is 
praCtifed by the kitchen-gardeners near London ; fome of 
whom alfo mix leeks, onions, and lettuce, with their 
parfneps ; but it is not poffible that fo many different 
things-can thrive well together, except they are allowed 
a'conflderable diftance; and, if fo, it will be equally the 
fame to fow the different forts feparate. However, car¬ 
rots and parfneps may be fown together very well, efpe¬ 
cially where the carrots are deflgned to be drawn off 
very young; becaufe the parfneps generally fpread molt 
towards the end of the fummer, when the early carrots 
are gene. 
When the plants are come up, hoe them out to ten or 
tw-elve inches afunder, cutting up all the weeds. This 
mult be repeated three or four times, according as the 
weeds grow; but in the latter part of fummer, when 
the plants cover the ground, they will prevent thegrowth 
of weeds. When the leaves begin to decay, the roots 
may be dug up for ule. Before this they are feldom w'ell 
tafted ; nor are they good for much in the fpring, after 
they have (hot out again. To preferve them for this fea- 
fon, dig them up the beginning of February, and bury 
them in the find in a dry place, where they will remain 
good until the middle of April or later. - 
To Cave feeds, make choice of fome of the longelt, 
ftraighteft, and largelt, roots, and plant them two feet 
afunder, where they are defended from ltrong fouth and 
fouth-weft winds, for the Items grow to a great height; 
keep them clear from weeds, and, if the (eafon ftiouid 
prove dry, water them twice a-week. At the end of 
Auguft or the beginning of September, the feeds will be 
3 ripe; 
