''Berula erecta'', known as lesser water-parsnip, cutleaf waterparsnip, or narrow-leaved water-parsnip, is a member of the carrot family. Growing to around tall, it is found in or by water. It is widespread across much of

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, and

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

.Altervista Flora Italiana, Sedanina d'acqua, Cutleaf Waterparsnip, ''Berula erecta'' (Huds.) Coville
/ref>Flora of China, 天山泽芹 tian shan ze qin ''Berula erecta'' (Hudson) Coville, Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 4: 115. 1893.
/ref> ''Berula erecta'' has a hollow stem. Underwater leaves consist of compound with thread-like lobes; leaves above the surface of the water are flatter and broader. The plant produces many small white flowers in a compound

umbel UMBEL (Upper Mapping and Binding Exchange Layer) is a logically organized knowledge graph of 34,000 concepts and entity types that can be used in information science for relating information from disparate sources to one another. It was retired ...

Description

''Berula erecta'' occurs on poorly drained neutral and acidic soils of the lowlands and upland fringe. It is found in the South West of England, especially in

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

. It typically resides in shallow aquatic environments containing moderate nutrient levels. During the winter, its stem and body become completely submerged underwater. ''Berula erecta'' has been shown to survive and grow better after living in stressful conditions with either limiting or excess nutrients or mechanical stress. ''Berula erecta'' has toothed leaves from one and a half to two inches across, each containing around twenty white flowers. The plant can grow from around one to three feet tall. The stalk has a pale ring at its base that makes the plant distinguishable, and has a scent of carrot or parsnip when crushed. The natural communities for ''Berula erecta'' are as listed: * Emergent marsh * Floodplain forest * Hardwood-conifer swamp * Headwater stream (1st-2nd order), riffle * Headwater stream (1st-2nd order), pool * Headwater stream (1st-2nd order), run * Prairie fen * Rich conifer swamp * Rich tamarack swamp * Southern shrub-carr * Southern

wet meadow A wet meadow is a type of wetland with soils that are Solubility, saturated for part or all of the growing season which prevents the growth of trees and brush. Debate exists whether a wet meadow is a type of marsh or a completely separate type of ...

Uses

The

Zuni people The Zuni (; formerly spelled ''Zuñi'') are Native American Pueblo peoples native to the Zuni River valley. The Zuni people today are federally recognized as the Zuni Tribe of the Zuni Reservation, New Mexico, and most live in the Pueblo o ...

use ''Berula erecta'' as an ingredient of "schumaakwe cakes" and used it externally for rheumatism. An infusion of the whole plant is used as wash for rashes and athlete's foot infection. Some Native American peoples have been known to use ''Berula erecta'' for medicinal purposes. ''Berula erecta'' has been studied for its

essential oil An essential oil is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile (easily evaporated at normal temperatures) chemical compounds from plants. Essential oils are also known as volatile oils, ethereal oils, aetheroleum, or simply as the ...

that has been believed to possibly have medicinal uses. The plant's essential oil has been shown to contain

polyacetylene Polyacetylene (IUPAC name: polyethyne) usually refers to an organic polymer with the repeating unit . The name refers to its conceptual construction from polymerization of acetylene to give a chain with repeating olefin groups. This compound is ...

s. Polyacetylenes have a wide range of beneficial medicinal effects. One is its nematodicidal effects that could potentially be beneficial in agriculture as well its positive effects on human health. Polyacetylenes also are

antifungal An antifungal medication, also known as an antimycotic medication, is a pharmaceutical fungicide or fungistatic used to treat and prevent mycosis such as athlete's foot, ringworm, candidiasis (thrush), serious systemic infections such as ...

antibacterial An antibiotic is a type of antimicrobial substance active against bacteria. It is the most important type of antibacterial agent for fighting bacterial infections, and antibiotic medications are widely used in the treatment and prevention ...

, and have

antiallergenic Allergies, also known as allergic diseases, are various conditions caused by hypersensitivity of the immune system to typically harmless substances in the environment. These diseases include hay fever, food allergies, atopic dermatitis, aller ...

and anti-inflammatory properties. However, medicinal use of pure polyacetylenes is not feasible due to their high chemical instability as well as a tendency to evoke allergic reactions. For this reason, consuming smaller and less pure amounts of polyacetylenes from the essential oil of ''Berula erecta'' may be viable. Following the first cut of the season, ''Berula erecta'' will likely regrow and produce flowers several times again in the same growing season.

Conservation

''Berula erecta'' (lesser water parsnip) is a component of

Purple moor grass and rush pastures Purple moor grass and rush pastures is a type of Biodiversity Action Plan habitat in the UK. It occurs on poorly drained neutral and acidic soils of the lowlands and upland fringe. It is found in the southwest of England, especially in Devon. ...

- a type of Biodiversity Action Plan habitat in the UK. The species is globally classified as a

least-concern species A least-concern species is a species that has been evaluated and categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as not being a focus of wildlife conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wil ...

, but is a

threatened species A threatened species is any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which is vulnerable to extinction in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of ''critical depensatio ...

in the United States. In Estonia, it is a

near-threatened species A near-threatened species is a species which has been categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as that may be vulnerable to endangerment in the near future, but it does not currently qu ...

and an

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. The species is threatened by invasive

wetland A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

species such as

watercress Watercress or yellowcress (''Nasturtium officinale'') is a species of aquatic flowering plant in the cabbage family, Brassicaceae. Watercress is a rapidly growing perennial plant native to Eurasia. It is one of the oldest known leaf vegetabl ...

that can quickly destroy its habitat. Recommended steps to promote conservation of ''Berula erecta'' are keeping an open canopy for the species as well as maintenance of groundwater sources that may include periodic controlled burns.

References

External links

{{clr Apioideae Flora of Asia Flora of Europe Flora of Northern America Flora of Australia Plants described in 1762