''Pastinaca'' (parsnips) is a genus of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

in the family

Apiaceae Apiaceae () or Umbelliferae is a family of mostly aromatic flowering plants named after the type genus ''Apium,'' and commonly known as the celery, carrot, or parsley family, or simply as umbellifers. It is the 16th-largest family of flowering p ...

, comprising 14 species. Economically, the most important member of the genus is '' Pastinaca sativa'', the parsnip.

Etymology

The

etymology Etymology ( ) is the study of the origin and evolution of words—including their constituent units of sound and meaning—across time. In the 21st century a subfield within linguistics, etymology has become a more rigorously scientific study. ...

of the generic name ''Pastinaca'' is not known with certainty. The name may be derived from the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

word ''pastino'' (or ''pastinare''), meaning "to prepare the ground for planting of the vine" (or more simply, "to dig") or the Latin word ''pastus'', meaning "food", liberally translated as "Earth-food".

Taxonomy

Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online taxonomic database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. History Following the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew launched Plants of the World Online i ...

accepted 15 species: *'' Pastinaca argyrophylla'' Delip. *'' Pastinaca armena'' Fisch. & C.A.Mey. *'' Pastinaca aurantiaca'' (Albov) Kolak. *'' Pastinaca clausii'' (Ledeb.) Calest. *'' Pastinaca erzincanensis'' Menemen & Kandemir *'' Pastinaca gelendostensis'' (Yıld. & B.Selvi) Hand *'' Pastinaca glandulosa'' Boiss. & Hausskn. *'' Pastinaca hirsuta'' Pančić *'' Pastinaca kochii'' Duby *'' Pastinaca lucida'' L. *''

Pastinaca pimpinellifolia ''Pastinaca'' (parsnips) is a genus of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae, comprising 14 species. Economically, the most important member of the genus is '' Pastinaca sativa'', the parsnip. Etymology The etymology of the generic name ''Pasti ...

'' M.Bieb. *'' Pastinaca sativa'' L. – parsnip *'' Pastinaca trysia'' Stapf & Wettst. *'' Pastinaca yildizii'' Dirmenci *'' Pastinaca zozimoides'' Fenzl

References

External links

* Apioideae Apioideae genera {{Apiaceae-stub