Selinum

Very elegant relatives of our native cow parsley. Foliage fern-like, supporting many umbels of tiny white flowers, during summer and into autumn. Good in sun or part shade and very fine in an herbaceous border.

As with all umbellifers, the heads of numerous small flowers provide a huge resource of nectar and pollen for a wide range of insects from tiny pollen-beetles to large hoverflies. If the seed-heads are not cut, the seeds may be eaten in autumn by finches and sparrows.