It is important to be particularly careful when harvesting the gourd, because the popular edible umbelliferous plant has some poisonous counterparts, so confusion can easily occur. So that this doesn't happen to you, we'll tell you here how you can clearly recognize Giersch.
How can you safely distinguish groundweed from poisonous concoctions?
In order to clearly identify goutweed and avoid confusion with poisonous counterparts, pay attention to the “rule of three”: triangular leaf stem, three groups of leaves per stem and three leaves per group of leaves.
Which plants look similar to groundweed?
There are two main characteristics that mean that the gourd is sometimes confused with other plants:the white flowers in double umbels and the parsley-like leaves These two characteristics also indicate other plants. These primarily include:
- Spotted Hemlock
- Water Hemlock
- Hedges
- calf goiter
- Dog parsley
All of the plants mentioned arepoisonous, especially the hemlocks, which you should under no circumstances mistake for groundweed.
How can you easily recognize the gopher?
You can recognize the greedweed particularly well by the following three characteristics:
- Leaves: The leaves of the gourd are divided into three leaf groups. These in turn have three leaves each. The latter appear smooth and sawn at the edge.
- Stem: The stem is triangular and hairless and about 30 to 100 centimeters high.
- Smell: The smell flatters the nose. It is reminiscent of a mixture of carrot and parsley.
What other characteristics does the umbelliferous plant have?
There are three other features that characterize the gopher:
- Flowers: The flowers are white to slightly pinkish red - each measuring around three millimeters in size.
- Fruits/Seeds: The fruits or seeds are initially green and later brown, divided into two, elongated and smooth and three to four millimeters long. They are similar to caraway.
- Roots/Goat's feet: The roots of the gourd are whitish and about three millimeters thick. At the end of each leaf stem is the so-called goat's foot.
Where can you find groundweed?
The umbelliferous plant grows in moderately moist, partially shaded locations. For example, you may come across it on walks throughforests and parks- often a little hidden under other bushes. Greedweed also likes to thrive onbank edges.
Distinctive features of the doppelgangers
- TheSpotted Hemlock smells pungently of mouse or mouse urine. In addition, its stems are not purely green, but have red to reddish-brown spots.
- Thewater hemlock does not have filigree roots, but rather a tuberous, thickened rhizome. In addition, it almost only grows in bodies of water and swamps.
- TheHedge goiter reveals stems with reddish spots. In addition, there is the club-like thickening at the branches.
- TheDog parsley differs from groundweed simply by its significantly narrower and more elongated, more finely structured and pinnate leaves, which are not sawn along the edges.
Tip
Stick to the “rule of three”
“Three, three, three, you're there with the gooseberry!” This old saying will help you recognize the goutweed:- leaf stems with a triangular shape- three groups of leaves per stem- three leaves per group of leavesIf you remember that, there is hardly any danger of confusing the gopher with its poisonous counterparts.
