Hogweed
Heracleum sphondylium
Also known as: European cow-parsnip · Eurasian cow parsnip · meadow cow parsnip · eltrot · common hogweed
Plantae
COMMON
Stats
- Lifespan
- Perennial
- Size
- Large
- Diet
- Photosynthetic
- Biome
- Temperate grassland
- Range
- Europe and Asia
- Movement
- Sessile
- Breeding
- Seeds
- Defense
- Toxins
- Status
- Common
About
A tall, coarse-stemmed meadow herb topped with broad umbrella-shaped clusters of small white flowers. Its hollow, bristly stems can reach over 2 meters, and brushing against the sap can cause skin to blister badly in sunlight.
Life cycle
- 1.seedA dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
- 2.sproutA first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
- 3.saplingA young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
- 4.matureFully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.
Learn more
Taxonomy
- Kingdom
- Plantae
- Phylum
- Tracheophyta
- Class
- Magnoliopsida
- Order
- Apiales
- Family
- Apiaceae
- Genus
- Heracleum
- Species
- Heracleum sphondylium