In message , Kate
Morgan writes
My daughter let some of her last years parsnips go to seed and they
were in her opinion very attractive plants. Yesterday she decided she
needed the room and so pulled them up. A passer by told her that in
that state they were very dangerous and could cause health problems,
She donned gloves and continued to remove the plants, she left them on
the ground and intends to burn them. She did however feel unwell last
night so is it true. ? Another parsnip fact she was told is that the
long root of the parsnip should not be eaten because that is toxic too.

Kate

Wikipedia claims, but does not provide a citation, that *wild* parsnips
cause phytophotodermatis (presumably as per giant hogweed). Google finds
references to this, but also finds that cow parsnip refers to what we
know as hogweeds, which could confuse the matter. However, it seems to
me on a casual perusal that wild parsnip is among the culprits. (Wild
carrot can also cause phytophotodermatis.) The active constituent is the
same as in rue, another notorious cause of skin blistering.

If there's other health issues then you'll have to dig further to find
them. (I seem to recall a report in New Scientist many years ago that
parsnips contain carcinogens, but quite possibly every crop plant
contains compounds that are carcinogenic in sufficient concentration -
Google finds an 1981 report to that effect at
http://particle.physics.ucdavis.edu/News/parsnips.html)
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley