In its first growing season, the plant has a rosette of pinnate, mid-green leaves. Its long taproot has cream-colored skin and flesh, and, left in the ground to mature, becomes sweeter in flavor after winter frosts.
It is a biennial plant usually grown as an annual. The parsnip ( Pastinaca sativa) is a root vegetable closely related to carrot and parsley, all belonging to the flowering plant family Apiaceae. Pastinaca sativa fruits and seeds Flowering parsnip, second year