Flowers, leaves, and fruiting bodies. Photo: Richard Hartland, Inglewood, Vic

Flowers and young fruiting bodies. Photo: Russell Best, Murray Sunset National Park, Vic

Common Name

Purple Parsnip, Purple Trachymene

Family

Araliaceae

Notes

Annual forb to 25cm tall.  Leaves alternating up the stems, with a sheath at the base of the leaf stalk, 1-3cm long overall, 10-30cm wide overall, flat, hairless above, slightly hairy underneath, dissected.  Flowers tiny (less than 3mm across), white, blue, or purple, with 5 petals, in 2-6 flowered umbels on stalks arising from leaf-like bracts.  Family Apiaceae in NSW and SA.

Differs from Trachymene glaucifolia and Trachymene thysanocarpa  in that the flower groups have 2-6 flowers.

Description and photo in G.M. Cunningham, WE Mulham, PL Milthorpe and J H Leigh (1981 and later printings) Plants of Western New South Wales page 544

PlantNET description:   http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Trachymene~cyanopetala

Florabase photos:  http://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/browse/photo/6268