Smyrnium olusatrum

Scientific name: Smyrnium olusatrum L.
Common name: Alexanders

Description
Habit: A coarse, hairless biennial or perennial, to 1.2 m high.
Stems: Erect, hollow, grooved.
Leaves: 2-pinnate or 2-ternate, glossy, leaflets oval, toothed, 4-5 cm; upper leaves with a strongly inflated leaf sheathing petioles.
Flowers: Yellowish green in umbels, with 8-12 rays; bracts absent, bracteoles few, very small; petals 5, free; stamens 5; ovary inferior and 2-celled.
Fruits: A schizocarp, 6.5-8 mm, broadly ovoid, strongly ridged.

Habitat: Waste ground and roadsides.
Distribution: Very local.

Native status: Not native; naturalised
Of conservation interest: No

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