Torilis japonica aka Upright Hedge Parsley

Torilis japonica is in Apiaceae, the parsley family. Its names include upright hedge parsley and scabby head. It is native across temperate Eurasia and into northern Indo-China. It also grows wild in northwestern Morocco. The RHS lists it as native to Britain and Ireland. Kew says it is annual or biennial. This means it lives for one or two years. Plants For A Future calls it an annual.

The plant grows about 3.3 feet [1 metre] tall. It grows by hedges and on dry, grassy ground. These sites place it among plants of open ground and hedgerows. The sources give no details of its leaves or stems. Nor do they say how the plant branches. These gaps limit what we can say about its looks.

Plants For A Future gives July to August as bloom time. Each flower has both male and female organs. Insects pollinate the flowers. The plant is self-fertile: it can set seed with its own pollen. Seeds ripen from August to September, after the flowers bloom. The sources do not give flower colour or fruit shape. They name seeds as the way to grow new plants.

Plants For A Future says it is easy to grow. It grows in sand, loam or clay that drains well. It accepts mildly acid, neutral and mildly alkaline soil. It grows in full sun or light woodland shade. The soil can be dry or moist, not wet all the time. Sow ripe seed where the plants will grow. You can also sow in spring. The sources give no hardiness zone or frost limit. They name hedgerows as its landscape setting. They give no details of pests or disease.

Plants For A Future lists leaves and roots as food. People cook the leaves and eat the peeled roots raw. It gives an edibility score of two out of five. It does not show that the seeds are safe to eat. It also notes past uses of seeds and root juice as medicine. In Korea, uses include care for itching, scabies and memory problems. People have used root juice for indigestion. These are records of past use, not proof that treatments work. The source reports no known hazards. This does not mean that every use is safe. It lists no other uses and flags no weed potential.