APIACEAE, Carrot Family

Herbs, often large and coarse; internodes of stem often hollow; leaves alternate, usually compound or decompound, petioles usually sheathing; flowers small, bisporangiate or rarely monosporangiate, epipygnous, in usually compound umbels, rarely in heads; bracts subtending umbel (involucre) and bractlets subtending umbellet (involucel) usually present; calyx of 5 sepals, at most 2-3 mm long, or only a rim or flange, or absent; corolla regular or rarely zygomorphic, of 5 separate usually inflexed petals; stamens 5, on epigynous disk; carpels 2, united; styles 2, often with enlarged base (stylopodium); stigmas 2; ovary 2-loculed, 1 ovule suspended from top of each locule; fruit a schizocarp (of 2 mericarps), each carpel with 5 primary ribs and alternating secondary ones, ribs sometimes corky, winged, or bearing prickles; oil tubes usually present in carpel wall; fruit sometimes flattened, dorsally, if parallel to face along which carpels are joined (commissure), laterally, if contrary to this face. (Umbelliferae, nom. altern.)

Apiaceae