Its flowers and leaves resemble those of wild parsnip. Comparatively, flowers of the prairie parsley plant are light-yellow, sparse, and typically found at the end of the stem. The leaves are pinnately compound like those of the wild parsnip, but are oblong with few teeth. It is shade-intolerant and prefers sunny conditions. This species reproduces readily from seed.
Seeds are fairly large and many are produced on one plant.
As a monocarpic perennial, wild parsnip spends one or more years as a basal rosette. When conditions are favorable, it flowers, produces seed, and dies. Optimal growing conditions apparently stimulate an increase in flowering. Apparently seeds take at least three weeks from flowering to become viable. Wild parsnip slowly invades an area in waves following initial infestation.