[Illustration: FIG. 537.--_Heracleum sphondylium._ Fruit.]
=a.= The winged lateral ridges stand _out from each other_, so that the
fruit appears to be 4-winged (Fig. 535).--_Angelica_; _Archangelica_
(Fig. 535); _Levisticum_ (Lovage).
=b.= The winged lateral ridges lie _close together_, and form one
wing on each side of the fruit (Fig. 536).--_Pastinaca_ (Parsnip).
Corolla yellow. The dorsal ridges are very weak; the oil-ducts do not
reach quite as far as the base of the fruit. Both large and small
involucres are wanting; leaflets ovate. _Anethum_ (Dill) is a Parsnip
with more distinct dorsal ridges and filamentous leaflets. _Peucedanum_
(Hog’s-fennel); _Ferula_ (with _Scorodosma_, Fig. 536, and _Narthex_);
_Dorema_.--_Heracleum_ (Cow-parsnip); the flowers in the margin of the
umbels are often very large, zygomorphic, and project like rays, _e.g._
in _H. sibiricum_. The fruit is very flat, with very small dorsal
ridges; the oil-ducts are more or less club-like and _do not reach as
far as_ the base of the fruit (Fig. 537). _Imperatoria_; _Tordylium_.
=6.= DAUCEÆ, CARROT GROUP (Fig. 528). The fruit has 18 ridges, _i.e._
each fruitlet has 5 primary and 4 secondary ridges, the latter being
often more prominent and projecting further than the primary ones. The
oil-ducts are situated under the secondary ridges (Fig. 528).
=a.= ORTHOSPERMOUS: _Daucus_ (Carrot). The secondary ridges project
much further than the primary, and bear on their crests a series of
hooked spines (Fig. 528 _D_, _E_); these are much longer than the
small bristles on the primary ridges. ~The involucral leaves of _D.
carota_ (Carrot) are numerous and deeply pinnate; the inflorescence
contracts during the ripening of the fruit, and since the external
umbels have longer stalks than the central ones, they arch over them,
and the inflorescence becomes hollow. For the terminal flower, see
below.~--_Cuminum_; _Laserpitium_; _Melanoselinum_.
=b.= CAMPYLOSPERMOUS: _Torilis_ (Hedge Parsley). The primary ridges
are covered with bristles; the secondary ridges are not. very distinct
on account of the spines, which entirely fill up the grooves.
_Caucalis_ (Bur Parsley).
[Illustration: FIG. 538.--_Coriandrum sativum_: _b_ secondary
ridges; _d_ primary ridges; _f_ endosperm; _l_ embryo.]
=c.= CŒLOSPERMOUS: _Coriandrum_ (Coriander) has a smooth, spherical
fruit (Fig. 538) with a distinct, 5-dentate calyx, the two anterior
(_i.e._ turned outward) teeth being generally longer than the others;
the two fruitlets scarcely separate from each other naturally; all the
ridges project only very slightly, the curved primary ones least, the
secondary ridges most.
POLLINATION. The flowers are adapted for insect-pollination;
they secrete nectar at the base of the styles; individually
they are rather small and insignificant, but yet are rendered
conspicuous by being always crowded in many-flowered
inflorescences. _Protandry_ is common, sometimes to such
an extent that the stamens have already fallen off before
the styles begin to develop (Fig 539, 2). Insect visits are
more frequent and numerous as the inflorescences are more
conspicuous. The flowers as a rule are ☿, but ♂-flowers are
often found interspersed among the others (Fig. 539), and the
number of these becomes greater on the umbels developed at the
latest period. A terminal flower, which differs from the others
in form, and in _Daucus carota_ often in colour also (purple),
is sometimes found in the umbel. The nectar lies so exposed and
flat that the flowers are principally visited by insects with
short probosces, especially Diptera; bees are less frequent
visitors, and butterflies rare.--1400 species (175 genera);
especially from temperate climates in Europe, Asia, N. Am. About
68 species in this country.
[Illustration: FIG. 539.--_Anthriscus silvester_: 1 ♂-flower; 2
☿-flower.]
USES. A few are cultivated as ornamental plants. They are,
however, useful in medicine,[38] and for culinary purposes
on account of the _essential oils_ and _gum-resins_ which
in many are formed in root, stem, and fruit. The FRUITS of
the following are used: _Carum carvi_ [+] (Caraway), _Carum
petroselinum_ (Parsley; also the leaves and root; its home
is the Eastern Mediterranean); _Fœniculum capillaceum_ [+]
(Fennel; S. Europe); _Pimpinella anisum_ [+] (Anise; E.
Mediterranean); _Coriandrum sativum_ [+] (Coriander; S. Eur.);
_Œnanthe phellandrium_ (Water Dropwort); _Cuminum cyminum_
(Point Caraway; Africa; cultivated in S. Europe); _Anethum
graveolens_ (Dill). The LEAVES of the following are used as
pot-herbs: _Anthriscus cerefolium_ (Chervil); _Myrrhis odorata_
(Sweet Cicely; Orient.); _Conium maculatum_ [+] (the green
portions; Hemlock). Besides Parsley, the ROOTS of the following
are used: Carrot, Parsnip, _Sium sisarum_ (Sugar-root; E. Asia);
_Chærophyllum bulbosum_ (Chervil-root); _Levisticum officinale_
(foliage-shoots; S. Europe); _Imperatoria ostruthium_;
_Apium graveolens_ (Celery, the root in conjunction with the
internodes); _Pimpinella saxifraga_ and _magna_ (Pimpinell);
_Archangelica_ (Angelica, the root of _A. norvegica_ was
formerly an article of food in Norway). _Poisonous alkaloids_
are found in a few, such as Fool’s Parsley (_Æthusa cynapium_),
Hemlock (_Conium maculatum_), Cow-bane (_Cicuta virosa_)
and species of _Œnanthe_.--_Gum-resin_ is extracted from
various species: “Galbanum” from _Ferula galbaniflua_ [+] and
_rubricalis_ [+] (Persia); Asafœtida from _Ferula scorodosma_
[+] and _F. narthex_ [+]; Ammoniac-gum from _Dorema ammoniacum_
[+], all from Central and S. W. Asia. “_Silphium_” was an
Umbelliferous plant which grew in ancient times in Cyrene, and
from which the Romans extracted a valued condiment.