Parsley

Petroselinum crispum

COMMON NAMES

• Common Parsley
• Curly Parsley
• Flat-leaved Parsley
• Parsley

Parsley is our most familiar herb, widely employed as a culinary garnish for more than 2,000 years, but it is seldom eaten. The leaf, root, and fruit of Petroselinum crispum (Mid.) Nym. (family Apiaceae) have also been used for centuries in folk medicine. Botanists indicate that the plant's leaves are pinnate decompound, which simply means that they are divided and somewhat featherlike in their appearance. Since parsley can be identified by anyone who ever ate in a restaurant, here are the essentials: parsley is a widely cultivated, biennial herb with yellow flowers borne in clusters. Its fruits, commonly called seeds, are small, ovate, and grayish to grayish brown with alternating ribs and furrows.

Parsley is a non-hairy biennial or short-lived perennial with a much branched stem. A thin, white, spindle-shaped root produces the erect, grooved, glabrous, angular stem that can reach a height of slightly over 2 feet. The plant is often cultivated as an annual for its foliage, especially in California, Germany, France, Belgium and Hungary. There are numerous varieties. Parts used are the ripe fruits (seeds), the above-ground herb and the leaves.

White or greenish-yellow flowers appear in compound umbels from June to August. Curiously enough, parsley is poisonous to most birds but is very good for animals, curing maladies such as foot-rot in sheep and goats. The wild parsleys found throughout the British isles are closely allied to the celeries and were used by the Anglo-Saxons in ancient times to mend skulls broken in combat.

In classical medicine, parsley fruits were used primarily as a stomachic or carminative (aids digestion and expels gas), and the root as a diuretic (increases flow of urine). The fruit also enjoyed some reputation as an emmenagogue and an abortifacient (stimulates menstrual flow and abortion). Although there may be some basis in fact for these uses of parsley, such attributes as a cure for diabetes, heart problems, liver ailments, and venereal disease are purely fanciful.

Using parsley as a digestive aid, diuretic, and emmenagogue is based on its volatile oil content, the concentration of which varies from less than 0.1 percent in the root, to about 0.3 percent in the leaf, and from 2 to 7 percent in the fruit. As is the case with many plants that have been cultivated for centuries, many varieties of parsley exist. The chemical composition of the volatile oil obtained from some of these varieties is quite variable. So-called German parsley oil contains 60 to 80 percent of apiol (parsley camphor) as its principal component; French parsley oil contains less apiol but more (50 to 60 percent) myristicin, a compound originally found in nutmeg oil but very similar to apiol, both chemically and in its physiological action. Both apiol and myristicin are uterine stimulants, accounting for the use of parsley volatile oil as an emmenagogue and for its misuse as an abortifacient.

Although it is not commonly eaten in quantity, parsley herb is a good natural source of carotene (provitamin A), vitamins B1, B2, and C, as well as iron and other minerals. Parsley is therefore a good nutrient, especially when combined with bulgur and other ingredients in the tasty Lebanese salad, tabbouleh, but as a medication, the herb is of little worth.

Because of their relatively high content of volatile oil, the fruits (seeds) may possess some stomachic and diuretic properties, but both such actions are relatively mild. Parsley volatile oil with its contained apiol and myristicin is toxic, and under no circumstances should it be administered to pregnant women. Since efficacy of parsley fruits is not well documented, and risks outweigh benefits, the German health authorities do not recommend their use.

PARTS USED

Leaves, root, seeds.

USES

The fresh leaves are highly nutritious and can be considered a natural vitamin and mineral supplement in their own right. The seeds have a much stronger diuretic action than the leaves, and may be substituted for celery seeds (Apium graveolens) in the treatment of gout, rheumatism, and arthritis. Both plants act by encouraging the flushing out of waste products from the inflamed joints and the waste's subsequent elimination via the kidneys. Parsley root is more commonly prescribed than the seeds or leaves in herbal medicine. Parsley root is taken as a treatment for flatulence, cystitis, and rheumatic conditions. Parsley is also valued as a promoter of menstruation, being helpful both in stimulating a delayed period and in relieving menstrual pain.
Other medical uses - Altitude sickness, Breast tenderness, Glue ear, Lung cancer.
Culinary uses - Parsley's culinary uses are endless and should not be limited to providing an attractive garnish for savory dishes. Add the leaves to soups, stews, stuffing, sauces, vegetable dishes, eggs, savory pies, and casseroles, and use when preparing meat, fish, and shellfish.
Include fresh parsley in salads-it's an essential ingredient of tabbouleh, a tasty staple of Middle Eastern cuisine-and in savory mousses, dips, biscuits, and crackers.
Parsley is a mainstay of fine French cooking. It's included in bouquet-garni, along with bay leaf and thyme, in aux fines herbes, a mixture of parsley, tarragon, chives, or chervil, and in persillade, a finely chopped mixture of parsley and shallots that is traditionally added to a dish just before it has finished cooking.
Italian chefs prefer the stronger taste of the flat-leaved variety and use it extensively.
The oil from parsley leaves and seeds is used commercially to flavor cured and canned meats, condiments, sauces, pickles, baked goods, and soups.

HABITAT AND CULTIVATION

Today parsley is rarely found in the wild, but is cultivated throughout the world as a nutritious salad herb. The leaves may be picked from spring to autumn, and the seeds are gathered when just ripe.
Parsley (Petroselinum crispum) usually grown as an annual. Curly-leaved parsley is popular as a garnish, but flat-leaved (Italian) parsley is more flavorful. Both like a rich, well-drained soil and full sun or partial shade. Parsley seeds germinate slowly. Be patient; keep the soil moist. Thin to 8 inches apart.
Parsley does best in highly fertile, well-drained soil. Tolerated pH range is 4.9 to 8.2. Keep plants watered during dry periods.
Thrives in full sun, but will grow in light shade.
Propagate parsley from seed, even though germination is slow and erratic. To speed up germination, soak the seeds overnight in lukewarm water. (Unfortunately, parsley seeds become adhesive when wet and will stick to your fingers like glue, so wear gloves when planting.) You can also freeze the seeds briefly to help break dormancy.
Start seeds indoors, about 4 to 6 weeks before your last spring frost date. Plant seeds to a depth of 6 mm (1/4 inch). Seedlings usually emerge in 15 to 21 days. Transplant to the garden about a week before your last frost date. (A light frost will not harm the plants.) Be careful not to damage the taproot.
Alternatively, plant seeds outdoors when the soil can be easily worked in the spring. (Don't sow seeds outdoors too soon, as the plants may bolt prematurely.) If planting directly in the garden, mix in a few radish seeds (which germinate quickly) to help mark the parsley rows.
Keep the soil moist during germination and early growth.
Space plants 30 cm (12 inches) apart.
Susceptible to crown rot, and to occasional infestations of parsley worms, carrot rust fly, and aphids.
Plants produce only a rosette of leaves in the first year. For a seed crop, leave the plants in the ground until the second season, when they will flower and set seed.
Parsley, which is a cool-season plant, self-sows. If you want to harvest seeds from the plant in the second season, mulch lightly to provide winter protection. However, to guarantee a regular harvest, sow seeds every year.
Growing in containers - Parsley is a good pot plant for decks, patios, and window boxes in cool locations away from hot sun. A 10- to 12-inch (25 to 30 cm) pot filled with standard potting soil and some aged manure can accommodate one large plant or three dwarf ones. Keep the soil moist and provide a balanced fertilizer once a month.
To grow parsley indoors, pot up one from the garden in late summer or start new plants from seed. For best results, keep the pot in a cool and bright window, or under artificial lights for 12 hours each day.

CONSTITUENTS

Parsley contains a volatile oil (including about 20% myristicin, about 18% apiole, and many other terpenes), flavonoids, phthalides, coumarins (including bergapten), vitamins A, C, and E, and high levels of iron. The flavonoids are anti-inflammatory and antioxidant. Myristicin and apiole have diuretic properties. The volatile oil relieves cramps and flatulence, and is a strong uterine stimulant.

USUAL DOSAGE

Infusion: pour a cup of boiling water onto 1 - 2 teaspoonfuls of the leaves or root and let infuse for 5 - 10 minutes in a closed container. This should be drunk three times a day.
Tincture: take 2 - 4 ml of the tincture three times a day.

SIDE EFFECTS AND CAUTIONS

Parsley oil may cause dermatitis in some people. The oil is very toxic and should only be handled by professionals.
Parsley is occasionally used in large amounts for medicinal purposes. If you are pregnant, you should not take such large amounts, as parsley is a uterine stimulant. Individuals suffering from inflammatory kidney disease should also refrain from using large amounts of parsley.

COLLECTION AND HARVESTING

Harvest the outer leaves for fresh use, drying, or freezing throughout the growing season. If not picked, these leaves become coarse and their flavor diminishes. Gather the leaves early in the morning, when it is still cool.
To dry, spread leaves on a screen and leave in a shady, well-ventilated spot. Crumble dried leaves and store in an airtight container.
Alternatively, and preferably, freeze leaves on a cookie sheet, then store in freezer containers. Parsley retains its color and flavor better with freezing than drying.

PARSLEY SALAD

• 6 Tbs. olive oil
• 1 1/2 Tbs. vinegar
• 1/8 tsp. dry mustard
• 1/4 tsp. granulated sugar
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. black pepper
• 1 large head iceberg lettuce, torn
• 1/2 cup finely minced parsley

Mix all the ingredients but the lettuce and the parsley in the blender at low speed for 1 minute. Chill them, and then chill the lettuce. Just before serving, toss the lettuce with the dressing, then with the parsley.

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