Common Hogweed
Encyclopedia
Heracleum sphondylium, common names Common Hogweed or Cow parsnip, is a herbaceous
perennial or biennial plant
of the family Apiaceae
. It is an umbelliferous plant, in the same group as fennel
, cow parsley
, ground elder and giant hogweed. Umbelliferous plants are so named because of the umbrella-like arrangement of flowers they produce.
This plant has pinkish or white flowers with 5 petals. They are arranged in large umbels of up to 20 cm of diameter with 15 to 30 rays. The peripheral flowers have a radial symmetry. Flowering typically occurs between June and October. The flowers are pollinated by insects (usually bees, wasps and flies) (entomogamy) The small fruits are flattened and winged, elliptical to rounded and glabrous, up to 1 cm long. The seed dispersal is by wind (anemochory).
Heracleum sphondylium is smaller in size than the skin irritating Heracleum mantegazzianum (Giant Hogweed).
(except Iceland
), and North Africa.
It prefers rich in nitrogen, moist soils.
(swamp parsnip, sium suave), western water hemlock (Cicuta douglasii, poison hemlock) and spotted water hemlock
(Cicuta maculata, spotted parsley, spotted cowbane) all have white flowers in large compound umbels, which can lead to misidentification. All water hemlock and poison hemlock are highly poisonous, but water parsnip is not. Both have clusters of small white flowers shaped like umbrellas, and have the same habitat near the shore line of lakes and rivers. Water parsnip has leaves only once compound, and water hemlock has leaves which are three times compound. Water hemlock has a large swelling at the stem base, and has bracts at the base of each small flower cluster, not at the base of the main flower head. The Water parsnip has small bracts at the base of flowers and main flower head as well. Yarrow from the Asteraceae family,(Common Yarrow, Gordaldo, Nosebleed plant, Old Man's Pepper, Sanguinary, Milfoil, Soldier's Woundwort, Thousand-leaf (as its binomial name affirms), Thousand-seal or Achillea millefolium) also has many small white flowers in a cluster. However the yarrow has feathery looking leaves which are pinnately separated into small narrow segments. The cow parsnip
(heracleum lanatum, Heracleum maxinium, Indian Celery or Pushki) is also confused in this group with similar flower groupings. However, the cow parsnip has large, broad leaves, and an unpleasant odour.
Herbaceous
A herbaceous plant is a plant that has leaves and stems that die down at the end of the growing season to the soil level. They have no persistent woody stem above ground...
perennial or biennial plant
Biennial plant
A biennial plant is a flowering plant that takes two years to complete its biological lifecycle. In the first year the plant grows leaves, stems, and roots , then it enters a period of dormancy over the colder months. Usually the stem remains very short and the leaves are low to the ground, forming...
of the family Apiaceae
Apiaceae
The Apiaceae , commonly known as carrot or parsley family, is a group of mostly aromatic plants with hollow stems. The family is large, with more than 3,700 species spread across 434 genera, it is the sixteenth largest family of flowering plants...
. It is an umbelliferous plant, in the same group as fennel
Fennel
Fennel is a plant species in the genus Foeniculum . It is a member of the family Apiaceae . It is a hardy, perennial, umbelliferous herb, with yellow flowers and feathery leaves...
, cow parsley
Cow Parsley
Anthriscus sylvestris, known as Cow Parsley, Wild Chervil, Wild Beaked Parsley, Keck, or Queen Anne's lace, is a herbaceous biennial or short-lived perennial plant in the family Apiaceae, genus Anthriscus. It is also sometimes called Mother-die , a name that is also applied to the Common Hawthorn...
, ground elder and giant hogweed. Umbelliferous plants are so named because of the umbrella-like arrangement of flowers they produce.
Etymology
The genus name Heracleum derives fron the Greek "herákleion" and refers to the mythologic hero Heracles, while the species name sphondylium, meaning "vertebrae" refers to the shape of the segmented stem.Description
Heracleum sphondylium reaches on average 50–120 cm (19.7–47.2 ) of height, with a maximum of 2 metres (6.6 ft). From large reddish rhizomatous roots rises a striated, hollow stem with bristly hairs. The leaves can reach 50 centimetres (19.7 in) of length. They are pinnate, hairy and serrated, divided into 3-5 lobed segments.This plant has pinkish or white flowers with 5 petals. They are arranged in large umbels of up to 20 cm of diameter with 15 to 30 rays. The peripheral flowers have a radial symmetry. Flowering typically occurs between June and October. The flowers are pollinated by insects (usually bees, wasps and flies) (entomogamy) The small fruits are flattened and winged, elliptical to rounded and glabrous, up to 1 cm long. The seed dispersal is by wind (anemochory).
Heracleum sphondylium is smaller in size than the skin irritating Heracleum mantegazzianum (Giant Hogweed).
Distribution
These plants have a Eurasian distribution, growing all over EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
(except Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
), and North Africa.
Habitat
The plant is common in herbaceous places, along roads, in hedges, meadows and woods, especially in mountain areas up to 2500 m of altitude.It prefers rich in nitrogen, moist soils.
Similar species
The water parsnipSium suave
Sium suave , the Water Parsnip, is a herb belonging to the parsnip family and comes from Africa and some parts of the Northern Hemisphere.- Appearance :...
(swamp parsnip, sium suave), western water hemlock (Cicuta douglasii, poison hemlock) and spotted water hemlock
Cicuta maculata
Cicuta maculata is a species of flowering plant in the carrot family known by several common names, including spotted water hemlock, spotted parsley, spotted cowbane, and the suicide root by the Iroquois. It is native to nearly all of North America, from northern Canada to southern Mexico...
(Cicuta maculata, spotted parsley, spotted cowbane) all have white flowers in large compound umbels, which can lead to misidentification. All water hemlock and poison hemlock are highly poisonous, but water parsnip is not. Both have clusters of small white flowers shaped like umbrellas, and have the same habitat near the shore line of lakes and rivers. Water parsnip has leaves only once compound, and water hemlock has leaves which are three times compound. Water hemlock has a large swelling at the stem base, and has bracts at the base of each small flower cluster, not at the base of the main flower head. The Water parsnip has small bracts at the base of flowers and main flower head as well. Yarrow from the Asteraceae family,(Common Yarrow, Gordaldo, Nosebleed plant, Old Man's Pepper, Sanguinary, Milfoil, Soldier's Woundwort, Thousand-leaf (as its binomial name affirms), Thousand-seal or Achillea millefolium) also has many small white flowers in a cluster. However the yarrow has feathery looking leaves which are pinnately separated into small narrow segments. The cow parsnip
Cow Parsnip
The Cow Parsnip is the only member of the genus Heracleum native to North America. Its classification has caused some difficulty, with recent authoritative sources referring to it variously as Heracleum maximum or Heracleum lanatum , as H. linatum, or as either a subspecies, H...
(heracleum lanatum, Heracleum maxinium, Indian Celery or Pushki) is also confused in this group with similar flower groupings. However, the cow parsnip has large, broad leaves, and an unpleasant odour.
Subspecies
This species presents a large variability of the characteristics and the occurrence of many intermediate forms. In Europe there are eight named subspecies.- Heracleum sphondylium subsp. chloranthum (Borbás) Neumayer
- Heracleum sphondylium subsp. elegans (Crantz) Schübl. & G. Martens
- Heracleum sphondylium subsp. glabrum (Huth) Holub
- Heracleum sphondylium subsp. orsinii (Guss.) H. Neumayer
- Heracleum sphondylium subsp. pyrenaicum (Lam.) Bonnier & Layens
- Heracleum sphondylium subsp. sibiricum (L.) Simonk.
- Heracleum sphondylium subsp. sphondylium
- Heracleum sphondylium subsp. trachycarpum (Soják) Holub