Afrosciadium harmsianum is a member of the carrot family, Apiaceae. It is a perennial tuberous herb native to east tropical Africa (southern Ethiopia, Tanzania and Kenya), while the subspecies A. h. australe is endemic to northern Tanzania.
A. harmsianum was previously classified under the genus Peucedanum, but was reclassified as the type species for the new genus Afrosciadium in 2008.
Afrosciadium harmsianum has two accepted subspecies:
Afrosciadium harmsianum grows to be between 11 and 90 centimeters tall, with a stem 5 millimeters in diameter at the base.