My first thought is conium, but it does not flower until it is tall. Torilis or Anthriscus species?

Anything wild that looks like parsley- I would not think of eating. Poisonous Hemlock is a common weed found in the US. Below is a link for you. I would caution you that the purple part on the stems sometimes doesn't show up till the plant is a foot and a half tall and it might just bet speckles of purple.

The flower you described-- are they tiny white 5 petal flowers arranged in an umbel (a flatish head)? Hemlock is (similar to Queen Anne's lace).
Good luck.

Here is a link that might be useful: indentifying Poison Hemlock

This post was edited by lola-lemon on Sat, May 4, 13 at 21:11

rugby,
Torilis looks just right.

Lola,
Wasn't planning on eating it, but I will certainly refrain now.

I am glad you have something besides Hemlock in your area.
.... I figure it's always worth warning anyone who finds "wild carrots" or "wild parsley" that Hemlock looks just like it and to be very cautious.
I about had a heart attack when I realized this plant is a common weed in my neigborhood and on my lot. It's so toxic you aren't even supposed to pull it with your ungloved hands! I just grubbed out more little 6" volunteers of it today and made a mental note to remind my neighbors (with young kids) that they have it growing near their patio again. Anyway- glad you apparently don't have to worry about it.

With that frequency of occurrence, especially in a cultivated garden, more likely to be some other weedy member of the carrot family, of which there are dozens. Poison hemlock has hollow stems that have purple blotches, is most common to moist, even reparian situations and has a distinct musty aroma. Not a scent I would easily mistake for parsley :-)

And this is a very dry area. I've not watered it at all, and it has not rained in a couple of weeks. It is disturbed soil. I think there was some last year, but since I heaped wood chips last fall, it's come up gangbusters this year. I've certainly handled it without problems.

It's possible I don't have hemlock, because I have not had mine analyzed by the local extension- but it has hollow, not fuzzy stems, with purple streaks and speckles. Usually anyone who sees it thinks it's queen annes lace. I've never smelled it as a way of identifying it because I often have allergies and can't smell anything anyway (unreliable). However, there was an article in the local paper 2 years ago that Hemlock was found growing on the bluff trails 3 blocks to the west of me and the County Extension recommend people be careful to not run their dogs or themselves through it.

Conium maculatum grows in upland habitats around here and can be quite abundant, so I wouldn't rule it out based on those criteria.

OP said it had white flowers. C. maculatum is a biennial that has low growth in year 1 and tall growth and flowers in year 2. So if it is low with flowers it is either not C.m. or the flowers were from another plant.

Definitely on the same plant. I don't know if it flowered last year. That was my first year here, and I didn't notice - there wasn't as much of it then.

I just mowed some in my yard - might be cow parsley (wild chervil). Some people say: Poison Hemlock has a bad, musty smell that reminds some people of mice. This that I mowed smelled really fresh and kind of bright and yummy like parsley or cilantro. I can't imagine poison hemlock found it's way to my residential yard. Check this video out. I think the stem that looks like celery help identify it as edible cow parsley. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCMCwa3I1T4