Parsnips refers to edible plants of the species Pastinaca sativa, which belong to the Umbelliferae family. Parsnips are a staple crop grown throughout Europe since Roman times, and revered for their ability to act as winter food due to their low spoilage rates. Parsnips are a good source of energy, mainly in the form of starch, and for this reason are a good alternative to potatoes in terms of providing energy to the diet. Wild parsnips are commonly found along roadsides in Europe and they are often considered a weed. The properties of wild and cultivated varieties of parsnips have been evaluated for their phytochemistry. Generally wild parsnips contain about three times the concentration of furanocoumarins in their seeds compared to cultivated varieties. Furanocourmarins may be considered antifungal and insecticidal, and this illustrates the reduction in such noxious chemicals that often occurs when creating cultivated varieties, and the considerations that need to be made when selecting crops for farming.
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