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Heracleum sphondylium montanum
| Common name: |
Cow Parsnip |
Family: |
Umbelliferae |
| Author: |
(Schleich. ex Gaudin.)Briq. |
Botanical references: |
71, 200 |
| Synonyms: |
Heracleum maximum (W.Bartram.), Heracleum lanatum (Michx.), Heracleum cordatum |
| Known Hazards: |
Many members of this genus, including this species[65], contain furanocoumarins. These have carcinogenic, mutagenic and phototoxic properties. The fresh foliage can cause dermatitis[21]. If the juice and hairs of the outer skin are left on the face and mouth, they can cause blisters[212]. This effect is especially prevalent for people with fair complexions[256]. |
| Range: |
N. America to W. Asia. |
| Habitat: |
Rich damp soils of prairies and mountains, especially along streams and in open woods in Western N. America[212]. |
| Edibility Rating (1-5): |
3 | Medicinal Rating (1-5): | 2 |
| Other Possible Synonyms: | From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below. |
| H. montanum[G]
H. sphondylium ssp. montanum[B,P]
H. sphondylium subsp. montanum[G]
H. sphondylium var. lanatum[B,P]
|
| Other Common Names: | From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below. |
| American Cow Parsnip [H], American Cow-parsnip [B], Common Cowparsnip [P], Cow Parsnip [H,FEIS], Parsnip,Cow [E], |
| Epithets: | From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets |
|
montanum = of mountains;
sphondylium = ;
|
| Systematics: | From a USDA
Plants Database |
|
Order: Apiales. Renamed to Apiaceae -- Carrot family
|
| Other Range Info: |
From the Ethnobotany Database |
|
Canada(Kwakiutl); Canada(Salish); Us; Us(Amerindian); Us(Blackfoot); Us(Flathead); Us(Nm)
|
Physical Characteristics
Perennial growing to 2.4m. It is hardy to zone 5 and is not frost tender. It is in flower in July, and the seeds ripen in August. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects.
The plant is self-fertile.
We rate it 3/5 for edibility and
2/5 for medicinal use.
The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils.
The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils.
It can grow in full shade (deep woodland) semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade.
It requires moist soil.
Habitats and Possible Locations
Woodland, Dappled Shade, Shady Edge, Deep Shade.Edible Uses
Condiment; Flowers; Leaves; Root; Salt; Stem.
Root - cooked[2, 46, 85, 94]. Tastes like a swede[155, 183]. Used like
potatoes, though it is considered to be poisonous by some writers[213].
The peeled stem can be eaten raw but is best cooked[2, 61, 183]. The
unpeeled stem can be used when young, or just the inner tissue of older stems
can be used, before the plants flower[85, 94]. For people not used to the
flavour, they are best cooked in two changes of water when they make a tasty
celery-like vegetable[213]. Another report says that, despite the strong
odour of the leaves and outer skin, the peeled young stems are mild and
sweet, resembling celery in flavour[256]. The stems cannot be eaten raw in
large quantities because they give a burning sensation in the mouth[257]. The
stems are highly nutritious, containing up to 18% protein[213].
Leaves and young shoots - raw or cooked[55, 85, 94, 118]. Cooked as greens
or added to salads[183].
Young flowers[46, 61, 105]. No further details.
The dried seeds are used as a flavouring for soups, stews and potato
salads[85, 183].
The dried base of the plant and ashes from the burnt leaves are used as a
salt substitute[183].
Medicinal Uses
Disclaimer
Antidandruff; Antirheumatic; Antispasmodic; Carminative; Febrifuge; Odontalgic; Stimulant; TB; Tonic.
Cow parsnip was widely employed medicinally by a large number of native
North American Indian tribes who used it to treat a wide variety of
complaints, but especially as a poultice on bruises, sores etc[257]. It is
little used in modern herbalism, though perhaps it merits further
investigation.
All parts of the plant are antirheumatic, antispasmodic, carminative,
febrifuge, odontalgic and stimulant[21, 94, 155, 172, 257].
The leaves are tonic[257]. They have been used in the treatment of
colds[257]. A soothing drink made from the leaves is used to treat sore
throats[257]. A poultice of the heated leaves has been applied to minor cuts,
sore muscles etc[257].
An infusion of the fresh young stems has been used in the treatment of
diarrhoea[257]. It has also been used as a wash to remove warts[257].
The plant has been used in the treatment of epilepsy[213].
A tea made from the roots is used in the treatment of indigestion, colds,
stomach cramps, rheumatism, sore throats, TB etc[222, 257]. Externally, the
root is used as a poultice on sores, bruises, swellings, boils, rheumatic
joints, VD scabs etc, whilst a bit of root has been held on an aching tooth
to reduce the pain[222, 257]. The root can be crushed, mixed with water and
used as an antidandruff hair wash[257].
The root contains psoralen, which is being investigated for its use in the
treatment of psoriasis, leukaemia and AIDS[222].
The seed has been used to treat severe headaches[257].
Other Uses
Dye; Musical; Packing; Repellent; Straw.
Whistles, flutes, straws etc can be made from the hollow stems[99,
257].
The leaves are used as a covering for baskets of fruit etc[99].
A yellow dye is obtained from the roots[257].
An infusion of the blossoms, rubbed on the body, repels flies and
mosquitoes[257].
Cultivation details
Succeeds in any ordinary garden soil, doing best in moist soils or deep
woodland[1, 55, 60].
Propagation
Seed - sow mid to late spring or early autumn in situ.
Division in autumn.
Suppliers
For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.
Web References
References for Heracleum lanatum (a possible synonym).
References for Heracleum maximum (a possible synonym).
References for Heracleum sphondylium subsp. montanum (a possible synonym).
- [G] Data
(Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.
Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.
[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).
[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.
[21] Lust. J. The Herb Book. Bantam books 1983 ISBN 0-553-23827-2
Lots of information tightly crammed into a fairly small book.
[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
[55] Harris. B. C. Eat the Weeds. Pivot Health 1973
Interesting reading.
[60] Hitchcock. C. L. Vascular Plants of the Pacific Northwest. University of Washington Press 1955
A standard flora for Western N. America with lots of information on habitat etc. Five large volumes, it is not for the casual reader.
[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.
[65] Frohne. D. and Pfänder. J. A Colour Atlas of Poisonous Plants. Wolfe 1984 ISBN 0723408394
Brilliant. Goes into technical details but in a very readable way. The best work on the subject that I've come across so far.
[71] Munz. A California Flora. University of California Press 1959
An excellent flora but no pictures. Not for the casual reader.
[85] Harrington. H. D. Edible Native Plants of the Rocky Mountains. University of New Mexico Press 1967 ISBN 0-8623-0343-9
A superb book. Very readable, it gives the results of the authors experiments with native edible plants.
[94] Sweet. M. Common Edible and Useful Plants of the West. Naturegraph Co. 1962 ISBN 0-911010-54-8
Useful wild plants in Western N. America. A pocket guide.
[99] Turner. N. J. Plants in British Columbian Indian Technology. British Columbia Provincial Museum 1979 ISBN 0-7718-8117-7
Excellent and readable guide.
[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.
[118] Gunther. E. Ethnobotany of Western Washington. University of Washington Press 1981 ISBN 0-295-95258-X
A small book, it is a good guide to useful plants in Western N. America.
[155] Arnberger. L. P. Flowers of the Southwest Mountains. Southwestern Monuments Ass. 1968
A lovely little pocket guide to wild plants in the southern Rockies of America.
[172] Schofield. J. J. Discovering Wild Plants - Alaska, W. Canada and the Northwest.
A nice guide to some useful plants in that area.
[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
[212] Craighead. J., Craighead. F. and Davis. R. A Field Guide to Rocky Mountain Wildflowers The Riverside Press 1963 ISBN 63-7093
Excellent little pocket guide to the area, covering 590 species and often giving details of their uses.
[213] Weiner. M. A. Earth Medicine, Earth Food. Ballantine Books 1980 ISBN 0-449-90589-6
A nice book to read though it is difficult to look up individual plants since the book is divided into separate sections dealing with the different medicinal uses plus a section on edible plants. Common names are used instead of botanical.
[222] Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1990 ISBN 0395467225
A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties.
[256] Turner. N. J. Food Plants of Coastal First Peoples UBC Press. Vancouver. 1995 ISBN 0-7748-0533-1
Excellent little handbook about the native food plants of Western Canada. Good descriptions of the plants and their uses with colour photos of most plants.
[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.
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