Pimpinella caffra D.Dietr.

Biennial or perhaps perennial herb, 22–85 cm., with a short and oblong to tapering, firm, tuber-like root, the rootstock often crowned with the remains of previous years’ leaves.. Stem terete, slender, wiry, finely striate, flexuose, ± densely pilose with short stiff hairs above, somewhat longer pilose or occasionally glabrous below, divergently branched from usually ± the middle upwards.. Basal leaves deltoid-ovate in outline, the lamina ± 1.5–5 cm. long, varying from simple and denticulate, truncate to deeply cordate at the base, to basally palmatisect with broad to narrowly linear, simple to dentate or pinnatisect segments; petiole slender, 5–19 cm., glabrous to pilose; sheaths narrow, tapering above, 1–2.5 cm., strongly ridged and sulcate; median leaves resembling the basal or more deeply divided, to pinnate with 1–5 pairs of narrowly linear to subfiliform segments, the basal pair up to 4.5 cm. long and 0.5–2.5 mm. wide, and the upper pairs rapidly shorter, increasingly more shortly petiolate upwards; upper leaves much reduced, narrowly pinnatisect or trisect, finally bract-like, sessile on the sheaths; all leaves moderately pilose to subglabrous.. Umbels of 4–12(–15) rays, densely or rarely more sparingly, very shortly and stiffly hirtellous, 1–2.3(–3.5) cm. long; involucre 0, rarely of 1 linear bract up to 8 mm. long; partial umbels 6–15-flowered; pedicels 1–4(–5) mm., indumentum similar to that of the rays; involucel 0; peduncles 2–4 cm., ± densely shortly hirtellous, sometimes with a mixture of slightly longer hairs.. Calyx absent Petals white, cordate with a broad apical emargination, ± 0.75–1 mm., densely or sparingly furnished with stiff ascending hairs on the central dorsal surface, rarely glabrous, 1-vittate.. Ovary usually glabrous or with scattered hairs which may occur particularly around the apex, rarely ± densely appressed-hairy.. Fruit broadly elliptical or sometimes broadest below the middle, laterally compressed, ± 2–2.25 × 1.75–2 mm., glabrous to sparingly or moderately furnished with short stiff hairs, black when ripe with greenish ribs; stylopodia conical, small to more tumid, with the stylopodial disk undulate-margined, narrow and flat to broad and concave, often purplish; styles from scarcely exceeding the stylopodia to slender and 3 times as long, also often purplish at least above.

It is a subtropical plant. It grows on grassy banks.

The leaves are cooked and eaten.