''Torilis arvensis'' is a species of flowering plant in the family

Apiaceae Apiaceae or Umbelliferae is a family of mostly aromatic flowering plants named after the type genus '' Apium'' and commonly known as the celery, carrot or parsley family, or simply as umbellifers. It is the 16th-largest family of flowering plan ...

known by the common names spreading hedge parsley, tall sock-destroyer and common hedge parsley. It is native to parts of Europe and it is known elsewhere, such as North America, as an

introduced species An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived ther ...

and a common

weed A weed is a plant considered undesirable in a particular situation, "a plant in the wrong place", or a plant growing where it is not wanted.Harlan, J. R., & deWet, J. M. (1965). Some thoughts about weeds. ''Economic botany'', ''19''(1), 16-24. ...

. It grows in many types of habitat, especially disturbed areas. It is an annual herb producing a slender, branching, rough-haired stem up to a meter in maximum height. The alternately arranged leaves are each divided into several pairs of lance-shaped leaflets up to 6 centimeters long each. The leaflet is divided or deeply cut into segments or teeth. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphology (biology), Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of sperma ...

is a wide open compound

umbel In botany, an umbel is an inflorescence that consists of a number of short flower stalks (called pedicels) that spread from a common point, somewhat like umbrella ribs. The word was coined in botanical usage in the 1590s, from Latin ''umbella'' "p ...

of flower clusters on long, slender rays. Each flower has five petals which are unequal in size and are white with a pinkish or reddish tinge. Each greenish or pinkish fruit is 3 to 5 millimeters long and is coated in straight or curving prickles.

References

External links

Illinois WildflowersWashington Burke MuseumPhoto gallery
Apioideae Flora of Europe Flora of Western Asia Flora of Lebanon Plants described in 1762 {{Apiaceae-stub