Parsley

A biennial, Petroselinum crispum, that has been grown all over the world for thousands of years, the best known of all herbs. Parsley is native to the Mediterranean region of southern Europe. Before it became a part of Italy, Sardinia featured parsley on its currency. Parsley had such strong status for the Greeks that they wore it to banquets. They believed that it sprang from the blood of Archemorus, the foreshadower of Death, whose nurse carelessly placed him in a bed of parsley, where he was devoured by serpents. Regarding it as the "herb of oblivion", they decorated tombs with parsley. Homer tells us that warriors fed their chariot horses parsley and mentions it as part of Circe's pleasant lawn in The Odyssey. Greek poet Theocritus writes; "At Sparta's palace, 20 beauteous maids/The pride of Greece, fresh garlands crown'd their heads/With hyacinths and twining parsley dress'd, Graced/joyful Menelaus' marriage feast." They also used it for medicinal purposes and fashioned it into a crown for the winners of the Isthmian and Nemean games.

Parsley has a strange particularity: it's poisonous to most birds and lethal to birds in the parrot family. Our word for it derives from the Greek petroselinum, meaning "rock celery", referring to its natural habitat. Parsley is rich in vitamins A and C, calcium, iron and manganese and was used to fight scurvy among sailors on long voyages. The leaves and roots were also brewed into a tea that served as a folk remedy for menstrual, respiratory and urinary complaints. Today, the leaves and stems of both curly parsley and flat-leaf parsley (Italian parsley) are commonly used by even the most herb timid cooks in flavored butters, egg dishes, salads, sauces, soups and stews. A sprig of curly parsley is also a ubiquitous garnish beside many main dishes (wise diners eat their parsley; the high chlorophyll content makes it a natural breath freshener). Although it is a biennial and hardy to zone 5, many gardeners treat parsley as an annual since first-season plants are considered the most tasty and tender. See also italian parsley.

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