莳萝属 shi luo shu

She Menglan (佘孟兰 Sheh Meng-lan); Mark F. Watson

Herbs, annual or biennial. Stem erect, terete. Basal leaves petiolate, sheaths scarious-margined; blade 2–3-pinnately dissected; ultimate segments narrowly linear. Inflorescence of loose compound umbels; peduncles much-branched; bracts and bracteoles absent; rays numerous, unequal. Calyx teeth obsolete. Petals yellow, costa brown, apex very incurved. Stylopodium conic, styles short, erect when young, spreading or recurved after flowering. Fruit ellipsoid or ovoid-ellipsoid, conspicuously flattened dorsally; dorsal ribs filiform, slightly prominent, lateral ribs narrowly winged, tapering at both ends; vittae 1 in each furrow, 2 on commissure. Seed face plane. Carpophore 2-cleft to base.

One species: Mediterranean region; cultivated and adventive worldwide, including in China.

Lower Taxon

• Anethum graveolens Linnaeus