Pastinaca sativa, commonly known as the parsnip, is a root vegetable related to the carrot and parsley. It is a biennial plant that is typically cultivated as an annual and belongs to the Apiaceae family of flowering plants. The parsnip has a long, cream-colored root with sweet-tasting flesh that becomes more intense in flavor after being exposed to frost. In its first year, the plant produces a rosette of pinnate, mid-green leaves. If left unharvested, it produces a flowering stem with small yellow flowers on top in its second growing season, after which it produces pale brown, flat, winged seeds. By this time, the stem has become hard, making the root inedible.