How to tell edible Cow Parsley from the poisonous Hemlock

How to tell the difference between edible cow parsley/ wild chervil and the poisonous hemlock

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[Somethingsomethinghandle-pm]

Watched this video months ago on a complete whim (not a forager) Just been out pulling weeds and found one of these in my garden. Thanks to your video I didn’t just pull it out with my bare hands. Cheers!

[jonbaldwin]

Is cow parsley actually worth aiming for, given the risk of hemlock confusion? Does it taste good enough to justify the risk? There's a place near me where cow parsley and hemlock grow together, and they look so similar when very young (before the red spotting has appeared on the hemlock) that I'd be very worried if a friend of mine took up cow parsley foraging!

[unfoldingpotential]

Thanks for making this vid, finally able to figure out that it was cow parsley growing all over my yard! it didnt match the hemlock description, but now i know !

[alexgaras]

Fantastic video, very helpful and informative. Thank you very much

[tacrewgirl]

Thanks for the info and how to tell the difference between cow parsley and poison hemlock. I've been reading a lot of how to tell the edible apart from the poisonous plants, especially when they have similar leaves.

[wemuk]

I must warn about this. We have a lot of poisoned hemlock in & around Epping Forest here. And they often have no purple spots! But if the stem isn’t hairy but smooth, just take a look at its very bottom base. The ‘legs’ are invariably purplish red, but only if you look carefully - downwards.

In short, don’t just look at the upper stems for purple spots. I tell my boy: stay away on forest walks, if on the stems you see that they are smooth & there’s not a hair!

[elizabethcomiskey]

Your video is a great help to me. I have plants in my yard in the rosette stage and needed to make sure they weren't poison hemlock - which grows abundantly along the roadsides here. You made it very easy for me to identify - thankfully not poison - wild carrot instead.

[jonathanjobson-hyde]

Thank you . I saw a chap picking cow parsley last year, I have never eaten it before, I like it . Found it in the local park Hyde park, they have not grown yet, I’ll stick with your suggestions, thanks again . And I’ll grab it from the same place as last year 😊

[jokeogh]

This is a brilliant video. I'm not goimg to pick or eat cow parsley but I have been worrying about other plants that I do pick growing nearby or amongst it being tainted by it if it is hemlock. Today I was thrilled to be able to confirm the plant I was worrying about is in fact cow parsley. Thank you so much.

[yasmine]

Great job contrasting the two plants!! Always wanted to know how to tell them apart. Regarding foraging, nopes, staying away from that one. There's plenty of dandelions, shepherd's purse, wild mustard, lambs quarter, purselane, etc...😋❤🤗

[UKWILDCRAFTS]

Thanks for watching. Subscribe for more videos on foraging 👇

[richardlilley]

Thanks for sharing your research and wisdom

[asgardsiteworks]

Sir, I am always enthralled by your videos, even short ones such as this. Thank you for sll your hard work and knowledge, and willingness to share it.

[rubenskiii]

Even when you are not planning on doing anything with either plant it simply serves as a great reminder of just how serious you need to take identification, and that your ego should be left at the door. Don’t think you know, know.
Warm greetings from the Netherlands🇳🇱.

[GreencampRhodie]

Great video. Forever in awe of & indebted to your knowledge. Thank you.

[justmadeit]

Would you make one on the difference between water hemlock and cow parsley ?

[HistAri]

There is a patch of a plant growing in a park near where I live and the leaves look exactly like this (and carrot family like flowers) but it smells extremely strongly of aniseed, you can smell it from ten steps away. I've never found a patch of plants that smell so strong. Do you know what that is? It confuses me a bit because I feel like if it was either of these plants the first thing anyone would mention would be the aniseed. PS. I don't want to eat it, I'm just curious!

[Dtrue]

Great vid I picked some today and was confident I had it right but this video confirmed it.

[Bedfordshireman]

I think it's always good to know these things, but I would say that there is no point picking cow parsley when unmistakable apiaceae plants like ground elder exist, which I think has a much nicer carroty taste anyway. Too much risk for not that much reward.

[shevan]

Your video are very nice to watch! Keep them coming!