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Apiaceae FAMILY

Sium latifolium

Sium latifolium

Edibility
1/5
Medicinal
0/5

Safety & Hazards

The entire plant, and especially the root, is poisonous[1, 2]. There is no firm proof of this[3].

Cultivation Details

HabitPerennial
Growth—

Prefers a light, rich, moisture retentive soil in full sun[4]. A plant of wet ground and shallow water, it grows best in about 20cm of water[5].

Propagation

Seed - sow late winter to early spring in a cold frame. The seed can be slow to germinate[4]. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and plant them out in the summer if they are large enough. Otherwise, grow them on in a cold frame for their first winter and plant them out in the following spring. Division in early spring just before new growth begins. Use the side roots[6]. Larger divisions can be planted out direct into their permanent positions. We have found it best to pot up the smaller divisions and grow them on in a lightly shaded position in a cold frame, planting them out once they are well established in the summer. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Sium+latifolium>

Pollinators

Beetles, Flies, bees

References

  1. [1]A Modern Herbal. — Grieve. · Penguin · 1984 · ISBN 0-14-046-440-9 ↩︎Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.
  2. [2]Flora of the USSR. — Komarov. V. L. · Israel Program for Scientific Translation · 1968 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org · ISBN - ↩︎An immense (25 or more large volumes) and not yet completed translation of the Russian flora. Full of information on plant uses and habitats but heavy going for casual readers. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
  3. [3]Poisonous Plants in Britain and their Effects on Animals and Man. — Cooper. M. and Johnson. A. · HMSO · 1984 · ISBN 0112425291 ↩︎Concentrates mainly on the effects of poisonous plants to livestock.
  4. [4]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  5. [5]Complete Guide to Water Plants. — Muhlberg. H. · E. P. Publishing Ltd. · 1982 · ISBN 0-7158-0789-7 ↩︎Deals with a wide range of plants for temperate areas (and indoor aquaria) with quite a lot of information on cultivation techniques.
  6. [6]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
  7. [7]Flora of the British Isles. — Clapham, Tutin and Warburg. · Cambridge University Press · 1962 · ISBN - ↩︎A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.
  8. [8]Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. — Hedrick. U. P. · Dover Publications · 1972 · ISBN 0-486-20459-6 ↩︎Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.
  9. [9]Tanaka's Cyclopedia of Edible Plants of the World. — Tanaka. T. & Nakao S. · Keigaku Publishing; Tokyo · 1976 · ISBN - ↩︎The most comprehensive list of edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.