Garden Parsley
Parsley leaves, Neapolitanum Group
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Asterids
Order:	Apiales
Family:	Apiaceae
Genus:	Petroselinum
Species:	P. crispum
Binomial name
Petroselinum crispum (Mill.) Fuss
Synonyms
Apium crispum Mill. Apium petroselinum L.

Parsley (Petroselinum hortense) is a species of Petroselinum in the family Apiaceae, native to the central Mediterranean region (southern Italy, Algeria and Tunisia), naturalized elsewhere in Europe, and widely cultivated as an herb, a spice and a vegetable.^[1][2]

Description[link]

Parsley leaves

Garden parsley is a bright green, hairless, biennial, herbaceous plant in temperate climates, or an annual herb in subtropical and tropical areas.

Where it grows as a biennial, in the first year, it forms a rosette of tripinnate leaves 10–25 cm long with numerous 1–3 cm leaflets, and a taproot used as a food store over the winter. In the second year, it grows a flowering stem to 75 cm tall with sparser leaves and flat-topped 3–10 cm diameter umbels with numerous 2 mm diameter yellow to yellowish-green flowers. The seeds are ovoid, 2–3mm long, with prominent style remnants at the apex. One of the compounds of the essential oil is apiol. The plant normally dies after seed maturation.^[2][3][4]

Cultivation[link]

Parsley grows best in moist, well drained soil, with full sun. It grows best between 22–30 °C, and is usually grown from seed.^[4] Germination is slow, taking four to six weeks,^[4] and often difficult because of furanocoumarins in its seed coat.^[5] Plants grown for the leaf crop are typically spaced 10 cm apart, while those grown as a root crop are typically spaced 20 cm apart to allow for the root development.^[4]

Parsley attracts some wildlife. Some swallowtail butterflies use parsley as a host plant for their larvae; their caterpillars are black and green striped with yellow dots, and will feed on parsley for two weeks before turning into butterflies. Bees and other nectar-feeding insects visit the flowers. Birds such as the goldfinch feed on the seeds.

Cultivars[link]

Parsley plant, crispum group

In cultivation, parsley is subdivided into several cultivar groups^[6] depending on the form of the plant, which is related to its end use. These are often treated as botanical varieties,^[7] but are cultivated selections, not of natural botanical origin.^[3]

Leaf parsley[link]

The two main groups of parsley used as herbs are curly leaf (i.e.) (P. crispum crispum group; syn. P. crispum var. crispum) and Italian, or flat leaf (P. crispum neapolitanum group; syn. P. crispum var. neapolitanum); of these, the neapolitanum group more closely resembles the natural wild species. Flat-leaved parsley is preferred by some as it easier to cultivate, being more tolerant of both rain and sunshine,^[8] and has a stronger flavor^[4] (though this is disputed^[8]), while curly leaf parsley is preferred by others because of its more decorative appearance in garnishing.^[8][9] A third type, sometimes grown in southern Italy, has thick, celery-like leaf stems.^[8]

Root parsley[link]

Root parsley

Another type of parsley is grown as a root vegetable, the Hamburg root parsley (P. crispum radicosum group, syn. P. crispum var. tuberosum). This type of parsley produces much thicker roots than types cultivated for their leaves. Although seldom used in Britain and the United States, root parsley is very common in central and eastern European cuisine, where it is used in soups and stews.^[8]

Though root parsley looks similar to the parsnip, it tastes quite different. Parsnips are among the closest relatives of parsley in the family Apiaceae, but the similarity of the names is a coincidence, parsnip meaning "forked turnip"; it is not closely related to real turnips.

Companion plant[link]

Parsley is widely used as a companion plant in gardens. Like many other members of the carrot family (umbellifers), it attracts predatory insects, including wasps and predatory flies to gardens, which then tend to protect plants nearby. For example, they are especially useful for protecting tomato plants as the wasps that kill tomato hornworms also eat nectar from parsley.^{[citation needed]} It offers protection even in its first year as the strong scent of the parsley leaves appear to mingle with the tomato scent and confuses the tomato moth.^{[citation needed]}

Culinary use[link]

Parsley salad

Freeze-dried parsley

Parsley is widely used in Middle Eastern, European, and American cooking. Curly leaf parsley is often used as a garnish. In central and eastern Europe and in western Asia, many dishes are served with fresh green chopped parsley sprinkled on top. Green parsley is often used as a garnish on potato dishes (boiled or mashed potatoes), on rice dishes (risotto or pilaf), on fish, fried chicken, lamb or goose, steaks, meat or vegetable stews (like beef bourguignon, goulash or chicken paprikash).^[10]

In southern and central Europe, parsley is part of bouquet garni, a bundle of fresh herbs used as an ingredient in stocks, soups, and sauces. Freshly chopped green parsley is used as a topping for soups such as chicken soup, green salads or salads such as salade Olivier, and on open sandwiches with cold cuts or pâtés. Parsley is a key ingredient in several Middle Eastern salads such as tabbouleh. Persillade is a mixture of chopped garlic and chopped parsley used in French cuisine. Gremolata is a traditional accompaniment to the Italian veal stew, ossobuco alla milanese, a mixture of parsley, garlic, and lemon zest.

Root parsley is very common in central and eastern European cuisines, where it is used as a vegetable in many soups, stews and casseroles.

Biological activity[link]

• Apigenin, a chemical found in great quantities in parsley, has been found to have potent anticancer activity. It works by inhibiting the formation of new blood vessels that feed a tumor.^[11]
• Parsley seed extract appears to increase diuresis by inhibiting the Na+/K+-ATPase pump in the kidney, thereby enhancing sodium and water excretion while increasing potassium reabsorption.^[12]
• When chewed, parsley is commonly believed to freshen bad breath, especially from eating garlic. However, some people regard this as a myth; it is no more effective than chewing any other substance (such as chewing gum).^[13]
• Parsley is a source of phytochemicals, such as carotenoids, which are known to exert various biological effects.^[14]
• The methanolic extract of parsley is antimicrobial.^[15]
• Parsley seed extract can reduce blood pressure, possibly due to its diuretic effects.^[16]
• Polyacetylenes can be found in Apiaceae vegetables like parsley where they show cytotoxic activities.^[17]

Health Questions[link]

Parsley should not be consumed in excess by pregnant women. It is safe in normal food quantities, but large amounts can have uterotonic effects.^[18]

Kidney controversy[link]

Parsley has become a popular herbal remedy for kidney stones, especially parsley tea^[19]. One explanation is that it's high in vitamins A, B, and C^[20].

Unfortunately, this is highly controversial^[21], because parsley also contains oxalates, that can cause kidney stones^[22], and also vitamin C, too much of which can cause the body to create its own oxalates^[23].

Etymology[link]

The word "parsley" is a merger of the Old English petersilie (which is identical to the contemporary German word for parsley: Petersilie) and the Old French peresil, both derived from Medieval Latin petrosilium, from Latin petroselinum,^[24] the latinisation of the Greek πετροσέλινον (petroselinon), "rock-parsley",^[25] from πέτρα (petra), "rock, stone",^[26] + σέλινον (selinon), "parsley".^[27][28] The earliest attested form of the word selinon is the Mycenaean Greek se-ri-no, written in Linear B syllabic script.^[29]

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first known use of the form parsley (as opposed to the older petrosili form) was in William Langland's 1376 work Piers Plowman, where he refers to "persely".

The species authorship is commonly cited as Petroselinum crispum (Mill.) Nyman ex A.W. Hill,^[2][3] a combination published in 1925, but the same name was used earlier (1866) by Fuss, making (Mill.) Fuss the correct author citation.^[7]

Gallery[link]

See also[link]

• List of culinary herbs and spices
• List of culinary vegetables
• List of plants with edible leaves
• Apium virus Y

References[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Parsley

 Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Parsley". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 

This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2011)

Ambrosia Parsley
Shivaree performing live in London on 21st April 2005
Background information
Genres	Alternative rock
Occupations	Singer-songwriter
Years active	1999–present
Labels	Capitol, Zoë
Associated acts	lead singer of the band Shivaree
Website	http://www.ambrosiaparsley.net
Past members
Danny McGough Duke McVinnie

Ambrosia Parsley is an American alternative pop/rock singer-songwriter. She began her career in 1999 as the lead singer of Shivaree (band) accompanied by Danny McGough (keyboard), and Duke McVinnie (guitar).

History[link]

Ambrosia Parsley has released 4 studio albums and 2 EPs with Shivaree. In addition to her work with Shivaree, Parsley has appeared on Mocean Worker's album Enter the Mowo, Verbena's La Musica Negra and has been featured in many other works by other artists.

Ambrosia Sings The News[link]

In April 2004, Ambrosia Parsley embarked on a project for the liberal radio station Air America called Ambrosia Sings the News — a short song (always the same melody), usually under a minute or so long that attempted to encapsulate the contents of the previous week's headlines. Approximately 47-50 installments of "Ambrosia Sings the News" were aired with some being live performances. The show was successful enough that a single titled "2004 (The Year In Review...For Anyone Who Can Bear the Mere Thought)" that summarized exactly what the title suggests was sold exclusively via iTunes.

Ambrosia Parsley Solo Album Debut[link]

According to a Rounder Records publicist, Ambrosia was to release her debut solo album in the spring of 2008 but the album was never released. The reasons as to why her solo album was not released in 2008 is unknown but as of October 2009 through non-official sources it was confirmed that Parsley continues to work on her solo album and will eventually see its release.

On April 2010 the song "Rubble" was presented on Parsley's official website as the first single of the yet-untitled solo album. The single became available for listening as streaming audio and a free download was available directly from the site.

On October 7, 2010 a message was posted on Parsley's official Facebook account that stated "Ambrosia has been hard at work on a solo project with the esteemed Elegant Too duo of Chris Maxwell and Phil Hernandez (Ray Davies, Yoko Ono, Fred Schneider, Jon Spencer, some others) and they’re threatening to debut a collection of heretofore unheard/unholy goods." On October 10, 2010 she debuted 3 new songs, "My Knees", "The Waltz" and "Make Me Laugh" in a small live performance in Phoenicia, New York confirming that the solo album is on its way.

On December 6, 2010 Parsley confirmed the album would be released in 2011^{[dated info]} by saying "Finishing up in January. Hoping for a spring release" and also confirmed another track from the album titled "Weeping Cherry".

On April 1, 2011 Ambrosia Parsley's official website was remodeled with new pictures, a live performance announcement, contact information, and a new song titled "The Other Side". The new track became available for free download in the same fashion that "Rubble" did.

Discography[link]

With ex-band Shivaree[link]

Shivaree's Discography

Albums[link]

• Weeping Cherry (working title) (TBA)

EPs[link]

• TBA

Singles[link]

• "Rubble" (2010)
• "The Other Side" (2011)

Ambrosia Parsley (Solo work & Collaborations)[link]

Aside from the work She has done with Shivaree, Ambrosia Parsley has done some collaborations with other artists and a couple of Solo tracks that have become available to the public through projects/albums of others.

Tracks that Parsley participated in are:

• "Ether" (back up vocals) - was released in the album "La musica negra" by Verbena on May 20, 2003.

• "I'll take the woods" (lead singer) - was released in the album "Enter the Mowo!" by Mocean Worker on April 6, 2004.

• "Everybody Came" (lead singer) - released in the album "For the Kids Too" with various artists released on October 19, 2004.

• "Girls: Must be single and very pretty" (lead singer) - released in Esopus Magazine #6 titled "Help Wanted" on May 1, 2006. This is a collaboration with 'The Elegant Too'.

• "Counting" (lead singer) - released in the album "Songs of Sara P. Smith" (an album of various artists as a tribute to Sara P. Smith) in 2006.

• "Morning Light" (lead singer) - released in the album "Songs of Sara P. Smith" (an album of various artists as a tribute to Sara P. Smith) in 2006.

• "You'd be surprised" (duet with lead singer of band) - released in the album "Your Language" by White Hassle on July 25, 2008.

• "Then Was Then and Now Is Now" (lead singer) - released in the album "The Best Is Yet To Come: The Songs Of Cy Coleman (2009)" with various artists and it was released on September 15, 2009.

• "Night Time" (duet with Elegant Too) - unknown origin or date. was posted on March 22, 2009 on Ambrosia Parsley's Facebook account.

• "My World" (lead singer) - a new song composed and produced by The Elegant Too with Parsley's vocals was made known on 11-21-10 in a commercial for Juicy Couture's new fragrance called "peace love and juicy couture". Possibly forming part of Ambrosia's solo album debut.

• "Pink Bricks" - (lead singer) - released in the album "Maximum Balloon" (Maximum Balloon is the solo album debut of record producer and musician David Sitek of TV on the Radio^[1])

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official site by Zoe Records
• Official site of Ambrosia Parsley
• Ambrosia Parsley (fan made) Forum
• Anderman, Joan (November 19, 2004). "Let her tell you a story". The Boston Globe. http://www.boston.com/news/globe/living/articles/2004/11/19/let_her_tell_you_a_story/. Retrieved May 10, 2009. 

Rodney Lee Parsley (born January 13, 1957) is a prominent American Christian minister, author, television host and evangelist. He is senior pastor of World Harvest Church, a large Pentecostal church in Columbus, Ohio and founder and president of The Center for Moral Clarity, a Christian grassroots advocacy organization. He is also founder of Breakthrough (a media ministry), the Bridge of Hope missions organization, Valor Christian College, Harvest Preparatory School, World Harvest Ministerial Alliance, Metro Harvest Church (an inner-city and prison outreach), Latin Harvest Church (a Spanish-language church in Columbus) and The Women's Clinic of Columbus.

He has been a guest on many media programs, including CNN's Larry King Live.

World Harvest Church[link]

The genesis of Parsley's church came into being in 1977, when as a Bible college student he began leading a Bible study in his parents' back yard. Seventeen people attended the first service.^[1] Soon it was decided that the Bible study should become a church. It originally became known as Sunset Chapel, and later Word of Life Church in Canal Winchester, Ohio, a southeast Columbus suburb.

The church's first permanent facility was built in 1979. It is now known as Alpha Hall, which is one of four buildings on what for many years was the campus of Valor Christian College (the college moved to the main church campus in 2011). Growth soon required an addition to that building, and several years later the church built a bigger structure adjacent to Alpha Hall, which is now known as Dominion Hall. In 1986, ground was broken on 57 acres (230,000 m²) to begin what is now the church's Columbus campus. When it was dedicated, it was renamed World Harvest Church in honor of Lester Sumrall, who had befriended Parsley years earlier and became the younger pastor's mentor.^[2]

World Harvest Church Columbus now includes a 5,200-seat sanctuary, children's and youth ministries, Ministry Resource Centers and administrative offices. Harvest Preparatory School, a private Christian school serving students in preschool through grade 12, also operates on the church grounds.^[2] About 10,000 people attend services at World Harvest on a weekly basis.^[3]

Other ministry activities[link]

Breakthrough is an outreach of Bridge of Hope, an international missions organization that is perhaps the least recognized of Parsley's ministry activities. Over the past 20 years, Parsley has led numerous humanitarian projects around the world, supported by gifts from his church members, churches affiliated with the World Harvest Ministerial Alliance and television viewers.

Bridge of Hope has an exhaustive record of work in Sudan, where a civil war has persisted for years. Parsley's involvement with Sudan began with his lobbying for the federal Sudan Peace Act, and has encompassed the purchase of freedom for Sudanese Christian slaves as well as food, medical supplies and equipment for freed slaves. Bridge of Hope has purchased the freedom of more than 31,000 slaves and provided more than 16,000 "survival kits" -- aid packages consisting of a tarp, mosquito netting, a cooking pot and food to sustain a family for a month.^[4]

Bridge of Hope has also completed projects in the African nations of Zambia, Uganda, Kenya and Mozambique.^[5] The organization's history also includes projects in Europe, Asia, South America, Central America and the Caribbean.^[6] its most recent international projects have been in Haiti (both before and after the January 2010 earthquake there) and Guatemala.^[6]

Domestically, Bridge of Hope has been involved in disaster relief, providing food, water, ice and cleaning supplies in the wake of disasters including Hurricanes Katrina, Gustav and Ike. Following these disasters, Bridge of Hope was named a First Responder by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.^[7]

Valor Christian College was founded in 1990 as World Harvest Bible Institute, and was later known as World Harvest Bible College. It attracts students from across the United States and around the world for ministry training in pastoral leadership, missions, evangelism, music ministry, youth ministry, media ministry, advanced leadership and interdisciplinary studies. It is accredited by the Ohio State Board of Career Colleges and Schools to offer associate of applied science degrees.^[8] Online classes were offered for the first time in the fall of 2010.

The Women's Clinic of Columbus opened in June 2008 across the street from a Planned Parenthood facility. It offers free pregnancy tests, free ultrasounds and counseling for women in unexpected pregnancy situations.

Personal life[link]

Parsley was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and was raised primarily in the Columbus area.^[3] His parents grew up in eastern Kentucky, and traveled there often to visit relatives when Parsley was a young boy. Young Parsley was raised as a Free Will Baptist, and had a born-again experience at Christian Center Church in Gahanna, Ohio, in the 1970s. After high school, he worked in real estate and at a pet-food factory before enrolling at Circleville Bible College (now Ohio Christian University).^[3] Parsley came under the influence of Lester Sumrall, an Indiana-based evangelist, missionary and broadcaster, as a young pastor. Sumrall became Parsley's spiritual mentor, and the two traveled together often.^[3] He is married to Joni Parsley. They have a son, Austin, and a daughter, Ashton, both young adults.^[9]

Parsley holds a Bachelor of Arts in Ministry from Ohio Christian University, a Doctor of Divinity (honorary) from Indiana Christian University and a Doctor of Humanities (honorary) from Liberty University.^[10]

Political activism[link]

Parsley is a political independent.^[11] He is a frequent critic of liberal positions on social issues, including abortion^[12] and the movement to expand the definition of marriage to include same-sex couples,.^[13]

Parsley became increasingly involved in U.S. politics following his work on the 2003 Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act. During the summer of 2004, Parsley announced the establishment of the Center for Moral Clarity. He openly criticized Sweden for the conviction of Åke Green under Sweden's hate crimes legislation.^[14]

On October 3, 2004, Parsley gave a sermon titled "Uncensored: While Freedom Still Rings". In the two-part sermon, Parsley expressed opposition to the view that there is a separation of church and state in the U.S. Constitution; to same-sex marriage; to partial-birth abortion; to hate speech legislation in California, Canada, and Sweden; to sexual orientation themes in children's books; to racism; and to poverty. Parsley has said that the U.S. government, by funding Planned Parenthood, is complicit in "genocide" against African Americans, because Planned Parenthood performs abortions in the black community.^[15]

A few weeks before the 2004 elections, Parsley encouraged his congregation and television audience to vote for Ohio's state constitutional amendment to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman. The amendment passed by a wide margin of voters from both political parties. Parsley has also encouraged citizens of other states with similar marriage amendments on their ballots to vote similarly, and headlined the "Silent No More" tour to register Christian voters.

Parsley has called upon Christians to counter the claims of Islam, noting that it is an "anti-Christ religion" predicated on "deception" and "America was founded in part, with the intention of seeing this false religion destroyed."^[16] The Muslim prophet Muhammad, he writes, "received revelations from demons and not from the true God." And he emphasizes this point: "Allah was a demon spirit."^[17]

Writings[link]

Parsley is an author of several books, including Silent No More, which was released in April 2005 by Charisma House. The book encourages Christians to participate in the political process, and especially to make sure their votes reflect their values. Concerning poverty, Parsley writes that government should "get out of the way," removing many constraints on capitalism. "If the government were to reduce the level of taxation, remove industrial restraints, eliminate wage controls, and abolish subsidies, tariffs, and other constraints on free enterprise," he writes, "the poor would be helped in a way that AFDC, social security, and unemployment insurance could never match."^[18]

The sequel, Culturally Incorrect: How Clashing Worldviews Affect Your Future, was published in June 2007 and soon appeared on the industry's best-seller lists.^[19] "Culturally Incorrect" identifies postmodernism - erroneously identified by Parsley as the belief that there is no such thing as absolute truth - as the cause of many of the culture's major ills, and calls upon Christians to impact the culture through prayer, service to the poor and activism.

Parsley's latest book, "Living on Our Heads: Righting an Upside-Down Culture,^[20]" was released in August 2010.

McCain 2008 endorsement[link]

Parsley personally endorsed the presidential campaign of Republican nominee John McCain, who called Parsley a "spiritual guide".^[21] McCain had actively sought Parsley's endorsement during his Republican primary battle with Mike Huckabee, who was drawing substantial support from the religious right.^[22]

McCain later rejected Parsley's endorsement based on Parsley's statements regarding Islam.^[23] Parsley was quoted as stating that he "do[es] not believe that our country can truly fulfill its divine purpose until we understand America was founded, in part, with the intention of seeing this false religion destroyed” and that Muhammad is "the mouthpiece of a conspiracy of spiritual evil".^[24][25]

In repudiating Parsley's comments, McCain stated, "I believe there is no place for that kind of dialogue in America, and I believe that even though he endorsed me, and I didn't endorse him, the fact is that I repudiate such talk, and I reject his endorsement."^[26] McCain further distanced himself from Parsley, stating, "I've never been in Pastor Hagee's church or Pastor Parsley's church. I didn't attend their church for 20 years, and I'm not a member of their church. I received their endorsement, which did not mean that I endorsed their views."^[27]

Thereafter, Parsley withdrew his endorsement of McCain's candidacy.^[28]

Criticism of Parsley[link]

Parsley is identified as a prominent player in the dominionist movement by both TheocracyWatch ^[29] and commentator Bill Moyers.^[30]

Some have also criticized Parsley for his recent book, Silent No More, because of the book's explanation of Islam and the view that the U.S. Constitution provides for a separation of church and state (among other social issues), and for his support of faith healing. Parsley supports that claim that Islam is an enemy of the United States and Christianity.^[31]

In January 2006, a group of 31 Columbus, Ohio, area pastors charged that Parsley and another central Ohio religious leader had violated federal tax laws. The complaining clergy alleged that Parsley violated the tax-exempt status of his church by supporting various political causes.^[32][33]

Parsley has since publicly stated that the Internal Revenue Service notified him in September 2006 that Reformation Ohio, an evangelistic organization named in the complaint, was in no jeopardy of losing its 501 c-3 status, and in 2008 also notified World Harvest Church that nothing improper was discovered.^[34]

Author Chris Hedges' 2006 book American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America quoted Parsley as using militaristic metaphors in a sermon concerning his critics:

References[link]

External links[link]

• Rod Parsley's official website
• Rod Parsley at the Internet Movie Database
• Fitzgerald, Frances (July 31, 2006). "Holy Toledo". New Yorker. http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2006/07/31/060731fa_fact1. 
• Posner, Sarah (October 23, 2005). "With God on His Side". The American Prospect. http://prospect.org/article/god-his-side. 
• Corn, David (March 11, 2008). "McCain's Spiritual Guide: Destroy Islam". Mother Jones. http://motherjones.com/politics/2008/03/mccains-spiritual-guide-destroy-islam.