Wild Parsnip Taken at Newport Wetlands on 28th July 2014 with Panasonic Lumix LX5 in macro mode.   Taken at Musselburgh on 2nd August 2020 using Panasonic Lumix LX5 in macro mode. Taken at Barns Ness on 1st July 2013 with Panasonic Lumix LX5 on macro mode. Wild Parsnip. Species: Order: Family: Habit: AKA: Pastinaca sativa Apiales. Apiaceae. Biennial , grown as an annual. Habitat: Blooms: Feature: Sandy, loamy soil. Early Spring. Late Winter. Closely related to cultivated Parsnips. If unharvested, however, it produces its flowering stem, topped by an umbel of small yellow flowers, in its second growing season. By this time the stem is woody and the tuber inedible. In Roman times, parsnips were believed to be an aphrodisiac.