Dear All, I am writing from Hungary (Eastern Europe). I am unable to identify a plant growing (quite abundantly) here in our creek, despite having Googled just about every variation of 'aquatic plants' (water plants; creek plants; etc) I could think of, in hopes of finding the images. Unfortunately no luck. I have also asked several of my neighbours, but no luck there either. The plant in question (please see images attached) smells faintly like carrot when crushed (both the stalk/stem and the leaves) and (at it's heighest) is one (1) meter in height. Given that it appears to be edible (purely a lay-mans assessment mind you) my question is a) what is it? and b) is it edible? I was hoping it was watercress, but the leaves don't match. Any help is most appreciated! :)
Dear Andrey, thank you for the quick reply. It certainly looks like it could be it! However when I checked in Wikipedia it says: 'It is not a poisonous plant, but it could be easily confused with the poisonous Lesser Water Parsnip – Berula erecta'. I then checked Bersula erecta in Google images, which also looks like the plant I am trying to identify. Any ideas how I can differentiate the two (i.e. Apium nodiflorum vs. Bersula erecta)? If it is the non-poisonous version I am tempted to try adding it to a salad. Thanks! L.
You are right, this might be Berula erecta. The two species are best recognized by the inflorescence. The leaves may also be used: Berula leaf has more leaflets than Apium and in addition, Berula has a small dark ring on the leaf stock, below all leaflets. It can be seen on some leaves in your first photo. This mnemonic picture summarizes the differences: http://www.freshwaterlife.org/imagearchive/main.php?g2_itemId=3222
I think the stem rings are the best indication that this is indeed Berual erecta and therefore not fit for consumption. These can be seen quite well in the first photo, thanks for pointing these out to me and thanks for your help! :)
