NEN Gallery

This plant is one of three common parsleys that are found along roadsides, at woodland edges and in hedgerows throughout Britain. It is the last to flower, blooming between July and September. It has ribbed egg-shaped fruits covered in curved hooked spines that cling to animal fur and help the plant spread. The fruits also have bent back styles. It has erect ribbed stems with the hairs bend sharply back on the main stems. The purplish-white flowers are notched with the outer petals being longer than the inner ones. They are held on flower-heads and beneath the flower heads are unequal bracts. Picture taken at Old Warden, Bedfordshire on 23rd July 2006.