Heracleum sphondylium
| Heracleum sphondylium | |
| Light: |    |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 5 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Self Pollinated | |
| Height: | 6' |
| Blooms: | Early Summer-Early Fall |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Shelter | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
 | |
Heracleum sphondylium (common name: cow parsnip)
Propagation: Seed - sow mid to late spring or early autumn in situ.
Division in autumn.
Cultivation: A very easily grown plant, succeeding in any ordinary garden soil[1][2], doing best in moist soils or deep woodland[1]. Grows well in full sun or partial shade[2].
This species contains a large number of sub-species. Some, but by no means all of them, can cause various problems as detailed at the top of this record. Subspecies transylvanicum, pyrenaicum, montanum, orsinii and alpinum are distinctly phototoxic, subspecies sphondylium and sibiricum are not phototoxic whilst subspecies granatense and ternatum vary in their toxicity[3].
A good bee plant[4].
Range: Europe, including Britain, south of latitude 61° to western N. Africa, west and northern Asia.
Habitat: Moist grassland and ditches, by hedges and in woods[5][6].
Edibility: Stem and young shoots - raw or cooked[7][5][8][6]. Used as a green vegetable, when harvested just as they are sprouting from the ground they are somewhat like asparagus in flavour[9]. The rind is somewhat acrid[10].
The leaf stems are tied in bundles and dried in the sun until they turn yellow[2]. A sweet substance resembling sugar forms on the dried stems and is considered to be a great delicacy[11][10][9][2].
The peduncles, before flowering, can be eaten as a vegetable or added to soups[9].
Root - cooked. It is usually boiled[5].
Medicinal: The roots and the leaves are aphrodisiac, digestive, mildly expectorant and sedative[5][8][2]. The plant is little used in modern herbalism but has been employed in the treatment of laryngitis and bronchitis[8][2]. A tincture made from the aerial parts of the plant has also been used to relieve general debility, though it is uncertain how it works[5][2]. The plant is harvested as it comes into flower and can be dried for later use[8].
Pollinators: Bees, flies
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Seed Ripens: Mid Summer-Mid Fall
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Known Hazards: Many members of this genus, including many of the sub-species in this species[3], contain furanocoumarins. These have carcinogenic, mutagenic and phototoxic properties. See below for more details.
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Bown, Deni. Royal Horticultural Society Encyclopaedia of Herbs and Their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, 1995.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Frohne, Dietrich and Hans Pfänder. J. A Colour Atlas of Poisonous Plants. Timber Press, 1984.
- ↑ International Bee Research Association. Garden Plants Valuable to Bees. International Bee Research Association, 1981.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Chiej, Roberto. Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. MacDonald, 1984.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Clapham, Arthur and Tom Tootin, Edmund Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press, 1962.
- ↑ Mabey, Richard. Food for Free. Collins, 1974.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Launert, Edmund. Edible and Medicinal Plants. Hamlyn, 1981.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Sowerby, John. The Useful Plants of Great Britain. 1862.
- ↑ Hedrick, Ulysses. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications, 1972.