Harvesting Wild Parsnip

Now it is November in Southeastern Ontario (Canada) and as I weed the fall garden, I find first year wild parsnips at a perfect stage for harvest. Here, I share ID tips for wild parsnip and I harvest a root to show. These tasty edible roots are abundant in our region but they also come with some cautions. I discuss all of this in this video.

[@sickerOr]

Thank you that is exactly the information I needed. There is a lot of fear around feral parsnip in Ontario but we could do so much by utilizing this free resource. I haven't harvested any yet, was looking to hear somebody's experience with handling it. Probably goes well with garlic mustard. Eat your invasives!

[@user-hj7ld4ff7p]

Funny to see a couple of people freaking out because they didn't watch the video. Also November two years ago, people were inclined to fear I suppose. Grimsby Ontario wetlands has signs up to scare people about wild parsnip. Opportunity lost, alas, to not have signs telling people to bring their kids back in November and harvest the root. "Bad" plants are good teachers, I guess, reminding us to slow down and pay attention. And as you say, these ones you can eat lots of because they're "invasive" (though even there I found your quote marks around "invasive" intriguing). In a way, all plants are native because they're from this planet. I've been eating tons of jewelweed flowers this week. Supposed to be good for poison ivy. And indeed it cut my blisters down from ten days to five. I should get a poultice and put a jewelweed leaf and a poison ivy leaf against my skin inside the poultice and let them fight it out.

[@mariabatlles7032]

Great video thank you.

[@hawthornherbals]

Thanks for watching!

[@joshuacooks]

thanks for the fantastic informative video, answered some of my questions. information was very accessable and video enjoyable to watch.

[@ronaldcurtis6270]

Thank you for the fun presentation. It was helpful.

[@candypodratz]

I have been super annoyed trying to get this out of my yard. I've been pulling and tossing them like crazy and every year i have more than the year before. I was told they were poisonous, but just found out they're not. So I'm gonna start eating them. 😂 now I'm excited to have so many in my yard. Food security. 🤷🏻‍♀️

[@techtonikness]

Are there any other lookalikes that have the leaves attached to the stem like that? I'm trying to find some identifying factors that can guarantee it is wild parsnip.

[@hawthornherbals]

Nothing wild that I can think of in our region (southeastern Ontario)

[@ashleethomas2368]

I know some people say wild hemlock can look similar. And that's toxic. I think wild hemlock has white flowers and parsnip has yellow flowers. That's just what I've heard from my friends. Always stay cautious and do your homework. 😊

[@AnotherYr4MeAndU]

Nothing looks like wild parsnip. Very distinctive leaves and umbels.

[@CountrySlickin]

Wait, aren’t these super bad to touch?

[@hawthornherbals]

Not if you don't break the plant. I do explain all of this in the video in order to dispel confusion and concern, and maintain appropriate caution. You need to watch it all the way through to the end though.

[@zevmandel]

Why on earth are you touching it with your hands and not using gloves. If you get the sap from the plant on your skin and it's exposed to light, you can get a VERY nasty burn, with blisters.

[@hawthornherbals]

I am touching it with my hands as I do regularly on my plant ID walks, to help dispel the fear that is often associated with this plant. It is helpful to know that breaking the plant can burn the skin under certain conditions. But also that it won't do so unless you're in those conditions, which is not the information about it that is normally given. Meanwhile, in addition to this potential of causing burns, it provides an abundant source of food for people and for many pollinators. I like the idea of approaching nature from an informed place, without fear, and I'm also keen to ponder different perspectives on plants that are deemed "invasive". This is why I touch the plant without gloves in this video. Thank you for your question, and thank you for watching.

[@waynestephas3036]

It sounds like you didn't watch the whole video

[@kathleenjanis2079]

Thank you so much for this information. I cut the seed heads off of a large area that I want for other foods and was panicking about the disinformation out there. We will be eating parsnips this fall. Is it true that the leaves can kill dogs?

[@hawthornherbals]

@@kathleenjanis2079 I don't know that the leaves can kill dogs. I've never heard this. Cutting the seed heads off will certainly help to stop the spread of the plant. In the fall, you should have access to the roots of the first year plants that didn't flower this year. Enjoy!