Common Hogweed

Common Hogweed
Heracleum sphondylium
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Asterids
Order:	Apiales
Family:	Apiaceae
Genus:	Heracleum
Species:	H. sphondylium
Binomial name
Heracleum sphondylium L.
Synonyms
Heracleum alpinum subsp. benearnense Rouy & E.G.Camus Heracleum alpinum subsp. pyrenaicum (Lam.) Rouy & E.G. Camus Heracleum alpinum var. pyrenaicum (Lam.) Pers. Heracleum austriacum var. elegans Crantz Heracleum ceretanum Sennen Heracleum granatense Boiss. Heracleum longifolium Jacq. Heracleum montanum Schleich. ex Gaudin Heracleum panaces sensu Lange Heracleum pyrenaicum Lam. Heracleum setosum var. granatense (Boiss.) Rouy & E.G. Camus Heracleum setosum Lapeyr. Heracleum sibiricum subsp. longifolium (Jacq.) Arcang.

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.

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

Close-up on flowers of Heracleum sphondylium

Heracleum sphondylium reaches on average 50–120 centimetres (20–47 in) of height, with a maximum of 2 metres (6 ft 7 in). From large reddish rhizomatous roots rises a striated, hollow stem with bristly hairs. The leaves can reach 50 centimetres (20 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 Europe (except Iceland), 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 parsnip (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,^[1] but water parsnip is not.^[2] 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.^[3] The Water parsnip has small bracts at the base of flowers and main flower head as well.^[4] 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.^[5] 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.^[6]

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

Gallery

• 

  Illustration of Heracleum sphondylium from Atlas des plantes de France. 1891

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  Plant of Heracleum sphondylium

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  Inflorescence of Heracleum sphondylium

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  Inflorescence of Heracleum sphondylium

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  Inflorescence of Heracleum sphondylium

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  Leaves of Heracleum sphondylium

References

1. ^ "Cicuta maculata.". http://www.em.ca/garden/native/nat_cicuta_maculata.html. Retrieved 2008-08-03. ^{[dead link]}
2. ^ Kuhnlein, Harriet V; Turner, Nancy J. (1991). Traditional Plant Foods of Canadian Indigenous Peoples. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9782881244650. http://books.google.ca/books?id=fPDErXqH8YYC&pg=PA124&lpg=PA124&dq=hemlock++saskatchewan&source=web&ots=wEZs3Qy1Nb&sig=4XiR4NlX_41oreXB54L841HnbIs&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=10&ct=result#PPA124,M1. Retrieved 2008-08-03. 
3. ^ "Western Water Hemlock - Agriculture - Government of Saskatchewan". http://www.agriculture.gov.sk.ca/Default.aspx?DN=6896bcb3-d202-43e0-ace9-c4ec72d8835d. Retrieved 2008-08-03. 
4. ^ "Water Parsnip - Agriculture - Government of Saskatchewan". http://www.agriculture.gov.sk.ca/Default.aspx?DN=e2b0945b-6609-4790-ae82-8fdd9135af26. Retrieved 2008-08-03. 
5. ^ "Yarrow Achillea millefolium". http://www.em.ca/garden/native/nat_Achillea%20millefolium.html. Retrieved 2008-08-03. 
6. ^ "Heracleum lanatum". University of Saskatchewan. http://www.usask.ca/agriculture/plantsci/classes/range/heracleum.html. Retrieved 2008-08-03. 

• Pignatti S. - Flora d'Italia – Edagricole – 1982, Vol. II, pag. 237
• TUTIN, T. G. & al. (ed.) (1968). Flora Europaea. (vol.2) Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. [p.365]

External links

• Biolib
• Plants.USDA

This Apiaceae article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.v · Categories: Apiaceae Medicinal plants Apiaceae stubs Wikimedia Foundation. 2010. Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР? Hasrat Mohani Colony William T. Powers Look at other dictionaries: Hogweed — Taxobox name = Hogweed image width = 250px image caption = Flower and leaf of Cow Parsnip regnum = Plantae divisio = Magnoliophyta classis = Magnoliopsida ordo = Apiales familia = Apiaceae genus = Heracleum subdivision ranks = Species subdivision …   Wikipedia Hogweed — Hog weed , n. (Bot.) (a) A common weed ({Ambrosia artemisi[ae]ge}). See {Ambrosia}, 3. (b) In England, the {Heracleum Sphondylium}. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English Giant Hogweed — Taxobox name = Giant Hogweed image width = 250px regnum = Plantae divisio = Magnoliophyta classis = Magnoliopsida ordo = Apiales familia = Apiaceae genus = Heracleum species = H. mantegazzianum binomial = Heracleum mantegazzianum binomial… …   Wikipedia List of plants by common name — The common names of plants often vary from region to region, which is why most plant encyclopedias refer to plants using their scientific names: binomials, or Latin names. Many plants have several common names, and many common names refer to… …   Wikipedia Cow Parsnip — Not to be confused with Parsnip. Cow Parsnip Scientific classification Kingdom: Plantae (unranke …   Wikipedia British NVC community MG2 — (Arrhenatherum elatius Filipendula ulmaria tall herb grassland) is one of the mesotrophic grassland communities in the British National Vegetation Classification system. It is a localised community found only in northern England. There are two… …   Wikipedia Cheilosia illustrata — male Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia …   Wikipedia Noble chafer — Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum …   Wikipedia Ambrosia artemisiaege — Hogweed Hog weed , n. (Bot.) (a) A common weed ({Ambrosia artemisi[ae]ge}). See {Ambrosia}, 3. (b) In England, the {Heracleum Sphondylium}. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English Heracleum Sphondylium — Hogweed Hog weed , n. (Bot.) (a) A common weed ({Ambrosia artemisi[ae]ge}). See {Ambrosia}, 3. (b) In England, the {Heracleum Sphondylium}. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English 18+ © Academic, 2000-2024 Contact us: Technical Support, Advertising Dictionaries export, created on PHP, Joomla, Drupal, WordPress, MODx. Mark and share Search through all dictionaries Translate… Search Internet Share the article and excerpts Direct link … Do a right-click on the link above and select “Copy Link”