fool's parsley

9.9

A poisonous plant that looks like parsley and can make you sick

noun
/fʊlz ˈpɑrslɪ/

: perejil de tonto

Fool's parsley looks very similar to edible parsley but is toxic if ingested.

Examples

The child mistakenly picked fool's parsley from the garden, thinking it was safe to eat.
Fool's parsley can cause severe nausea if ingested, so it is important to recognize it in the wild.
Farmers warn hikers to be cautious of fool's parsley in the wild.
Be careful not to touch fool's parsley.
The fool's parsley is often mistaken for edible herbs.
Many people mistakenly confuse fool's parsley with regular parsley, which can lead to poisoning.
It is vital to educate children about fool's parsley, as it resembles safe plants but can be harmful.

Synonyms

poisonous plant

vsfool's parsley

2 3.5

A plant that can be deadly if you touch it or eat it

is the specific European parsleylike poisonous species rather than any harmful plant

Aethusa cynapium

vsfool's parsley

Specialized

9.9

A poisonous plant that looks like parsley and makes people sick if eaten

is the same species but named with a different common label

lesser hemlock

vsfool's parsley

9.9

A plant that looks like parsley and can make you very sick if eaten

is the same plant but called by a different familiar name

Aethusa

vsfool's parsley

Specialized

9.9

A poisonous plant like parsley that people call fool's parsley

is narrower, naming a single species rather than the whole genus

poison parsley

vsfool's parsley

9.9

A tall plant with fernlike leaves and white flowers that can make animals or people very ill

focuses on a smaller parsleylike species causing nausea, not a tall biennial

Surface Forms

fool's parsley singular

fool's parsleys plural

Morphology

fool's + parsley

The compound clearly signals a relationship to 'parsley' and the possessive 'fool's' commonly marks a deceptive or imitation version (compare 'fool's gold'), so a learner knowing both words could infer it is a parsley-like plant. However, the critical information that it is poisonous and causes nausea is not directly derivable from the constituents, so the meaning is only partially transparent.

Etymology

Fool's parsley comes from a simple, dangerous trick: it looks almost exactly like edible parsley, but it is poisonous. Because it can make someone very sick if eaten by mistake, people called it Fool's parsley as a warning to be careful.