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Common Name: Cow Parsnip

General Information

Heracleum sphondylium is a Biennial/Perennial up to 1.80 metres tall.
It is harvested from the wild for local use as a food and medicine

Known Hazards

Many members of this genus, including many of the sub-species in this species[], contain furanocoumarins. These have carcinogenic, mutagenic and phototoxic properties. See below for more details.

Botanical References

,

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[, ].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Habit	Biennial/Perennial
Height	1.80 m
Pollinators	Bees, Flies
Self-fertile	Yes
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

A very easily grown plant, succeeding in any ordinary garden soil[, ], doing best in moist soils or deep woodland[]. Grows well in full sun or partial shade[].
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[].
A good bee plant[].

Edible Uses

Stem and young shoots - raw or cooked[, , , ]. Used as a green vegetable, when harvested just as they are sprouting from the ground they are somewhat like asparagus in flavour[]. The rind is somewhat acrid[].
The leaf stems are tied in bundles and dried in the sun until they turn yellow[]. A sweet substance resembling sugar forms on the dried stems and is considered to be a great delicacy[, , , ].
The peduncles, before flowering, can be eaten as a vegetable or added to soups[].
Root - cooked. It is usually boiled[].

Medicinal

The roots and the leaves are aphrodisiac, digestive, mildly expectorant and sedative[, , ]. The plant is little used in modern herbalism but has been employed in the treatment of laryngitis and bronchitis[, ]. 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[, ]. The plant is harvested as it comes into flower and can be dried for later use[].

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed - sow mid to late spring or early autumn in situ.
Division in autumn.