cow parsley

9.1

A tall plant with clusters of small white flowers that grows wild by roads and fields

noun
/kaʊ ˈpɑːrsli/

: perejil de vaca

While walking along the roadside, we noticed the tall cow parsley swaying gently in the breeze.

Examples

Look at that cow parsley!
The cow parsley is beautiful!
Cow parsley grows in abundance along the rural hedgerows each spring.
Some gardeners consider cow parsley a weed and remove it from their lawns.
The delicate white flowers of cow parsley sway in the breeze by the roadside.
The fields were filled with beautiful cow parsley, creating a stunning display of white flowers.
The gardener decided to leave the cow parsley to grow wild, appreciating its delicate beauty in the natural landscape.

Synonyms

Anthriscus sylvestris

vscow parsley

Specialized

9.9

A tall wild plant with umbrella-shaped clusters of small white flowers often by roadsides

is the common everyday name rather than the formal Latin name

wild chervil

vscow parsley

9.2

A tall plant with fern-like leaves and white umbrella-shaped flower clusters that often grows as a weed

is the common everyday name used in other regions for the plant

Surface Forms

cow parsley singular

cow parsleys plural

Morphology

cow + parsley

The compound 'cow parsley' transparently signals a plant related to or resembling 'parsley' with some association implied by 'cow', so a B1 learner who knows both words can plausibly infer it is a parsley-like wild plant. However, the precise botanical sense (tall, white-flowered biennial often regarded as a weed) and the conventional nature of the name are not fully predictable from the parts, so it is not fully transparent.

Etymology

Cow parsley probably got its name because it looks a bit like garden parsley and often grows where cows graze. So the name helps you remember that this plant with white flowers is a parsley-like 'wild' plant you often see in fields and by roads.