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The Apiaceae, commonly known as carrot or parsley family, is a group of mostly aromatic plants with more than 3,700 species. The defining characteristic is the inflorescence: a simple or compound umbel.
Many plants in this family have estrogenic properties and have been used as a folk medicine for birth control. The giant fennel, Conium maculatum, has been used as a sedative and in treatments for arthritis and asthma in addition to its most famous use: a method of killing criminals and philosophers.