Platysace lanceolata

Native parsnip

Family: Apiaceae

Platysace lanceolata belongs to the same family of herbs as the Flannel Flower and the common celery. It is an erect, bushy shrub 1-1.5m high, abundant in woodland and dry sandy heaths on sandstone.

There are two varieties of the lance-leaved platysace. The broad-leafed form has alternate, narrow, thin, flexible leaves about 3cm long, with distinctive veins almost parallel. The narrow-leafed form has fairly stiff heart-shaped leaves.

Crushed leaves smell a bit like carrots.

The white flowers are densely packed in compound terminal umbels.

Platysace lanceolata flowers from December to April.