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Hemlock Water-parsnip

Sium suave

Found in freshwater marshes, brackish marshes, swamp forests, in tidally or seasonally flooded hydrology. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

25
Good

Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 88%

Height
3–6 feet
Spread
2–3 feet
Light
Full sun
Soil moisture
Moist to wet

Space about 2.5 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 16 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count

Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial
Bloom
June to August
Fruiting season
August to October

Not yet recorded · Leaves

Recorded in 52 Virginia counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement.

1 of 2

Salt and brackish marshes

Fort Fisher brackish marsh and woodland edge
Brackish marsh at a woodland edge. Shown: Fort Fisher, North Carolina, a neighboring state.Fort Fisher brackish marsh and woodland edge, ncwetlands.org, undated. CC0 1.0. Source record.

Swamps

View, Dismal Swamp, North Carolina
Named place / source context. Shown: Great Dismal Swamp, North Carolina, as titled by Museum of Fine Arts Boston; nineteenth-century artistic interpretation, a neighboring state.View, Dismal Swamp, North Carolina, Regis Francois Gignoux, 1850. Public domain. Source record.
Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

5CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA

Genus host records with ranges including VA · Sium

  • Papaipema insulidensRagwort Stem Borer
  • Papilio polyxenesBlack Swallowtail, Celery Caterpillar, Fennel Worm, Desert Black Swallowtail, Parsnip Swallowtail
  • Agonopterix clemensella
  • Depressaria cinereocostella
  • Thyraylia bunteana
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
0BeesSoutheastern regional records
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
—BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Apiaceae
Hardiness
Zones 3–9
Flower color
White
Fruit begins
August
Fruit ends
October

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope
  • Bloom · “June to August” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) (ranked first; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
  • Flower color · “White” · Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide · Nursery cultural guide; height in flower; moisture categories retained as printed
  • Fruit begins · “August” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
  • Fruit ends · “October” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
  • Hardiness · “Zones 3–9” · Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder
  • Height · “3–6 feet” · Tennessee Smart Yards (ranked first; Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder, Minnesota Wildflowers, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ) · Published Tennessee growing guidance; exact cached scientific heading
  • Life cycle · “Perennial” · Minnesota Wildflowers
  • Light · “Full sun” · Tennessee Smart Yards (ranked first; Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ) · Published Tennessee growing guidance; exact cached scientific heading
  • primary_flower_color · “white” · Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide
  • Soil · “wet to moderately wet” · Tennessee Smart Yards (ranked first; Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ) · Published Tennessee growing guidance; exact cached scientific heading
  • Spread · “2–3 feet” · Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder
Also known as

Hemlock Water parsnip; Water Parsnip

Conservation status

Virginia rankS5
Global rankG5
VA statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources