It’s
late May, or maybe late June, and you’re walking along a shady stream bank, or a
meadow, when you see a tall leafy plant with a big spray of white flowers. Do you know what it is? You’d better know, because if you don’t you might
get burned!
It’s
cow parsnip! People often confuse cow parsnip
for its larger, nastier, bad ass cousin, giant hogweed! However, the stem of cow parsnip does not
contain the purple blotches that are found on giant hogweed stems. And while it is not as dangerous as the
invasive (originally native to central Asia) giant hogweed, it is still not a
plant to mess with.
Cow
parsnip, also known as common cowparsnip, cow parsley, or heracleum maximum W. Bartram, is a native,
herbaceous, biennial to short-lived perennial plant of woodlands, grasslands,
pastures, riparian (streambank) areas, and roadsides that is native to most of
North America. It likes shady and wet environments
and does well in cold areas.
Cow
parsnip flowers in its second year and has a stem that may grow more than 6
feet (1.8 m) tall. The flower, made up
of many small white flowers, is about a foot (30 cm) across. Cow parsnips leaves can be almost 2 feet (60
cm) wide.
Cow
parsnip, just like other members of the heracleum family, has a sap that
contains phototoxic furanocoumarins (fyur-a-no-coo-MAR-inz). Burns occur when the sap from the cow parsnip
gets on your skin and is then exposed to sunlight and UV light with a wavelength
of 320-380 nanometers. This combination
of UV rays from the sun and the furanocoumarins in the sap, cause
phytophotodermatitis, or skin irritation, inflammation and blistering. It can also cause blindness if it gets into your
eyes. And it is not just people that are
sensitive to it, animals with thin fur, including recently sheared sheep, can also
be burned by it.
If
you think, or know, that you have been exposed to the phototoxic sap of the cow
parsnip, cover the affected area immediately to keep sunlight from the area and
to prevent the reaction and wash the area with cool water and mild soap. Keep the affected area away from sunlight for
at least 48 hours1.
But
cow parsnip isn’t all bad. The cow
parsnip only developed this form of chemical warfare, to keep bugs from feeding
on it. The leaves of the cow parsnip are
an important food source for cow parsnip thrips and parsnip webworm moth
larvae. Also, the flowers of cow parsnip
attract many bee, wasp, fly, and butterfly species. Additionally, cow parsnip is a valuable
forage for livestock, deer, elk, moose, bear and the inner pith is a
traditional Native American food.
Don’t forget to come back next week and read “Hog What! The Perils of
Hog Weed©”, where we will talk about how to tell if that plant in the forest is
cow parsnip or giant hogweed.
I
hope that you continue to enjoy The Woodsman’s Journal Online and look for me
on YouTube at BandanaMan Productions for other related videos, HERE. Don’t forget to follow me on both The
Woodsman’s Journal Online, HERE,
and subscribe to BandanaMan Productions on YouTube. If you have questions, as always, feel free
to leave a comment on either site. I
announce new articles on Facebook at Eric Reynolds, on Instagram at bandanamanaproductions,
and on VK at Eric Reynolds, so watch for me.
That
is all for now, and as always, until next time, Happy Trails!
Notes
1
“Cow Parsnip” by Cornell Weed Identification
Sources
Brunning,
Andy; “The chemistry of Giant Hogweed and how it causes skin burns”, August 3,
2017, [© 2024 Andy Brunning / Compound Interest], https://www.compoundchem.com/2017/08/03/gianthogweed/,
accessed June 7, 2023
Cornell
Weed Identification; “Cow Parsnip”, [©2024 Cornell University], https://blogs.cornell.edu/weedid/cow-parsnip/#:~:text=This%20can%20affect%20sensitive%20individuals,for%20at%20least%2048%20hours,
accessed June 8, 2024
LaFrance, Paul; “Hikers
beware: Cow parsnip can inflict pain on those who don't take precautions”,
Anchorage Dailey News, June 16, 2016 (Updated: June 30, 2016), https://www.adn.com/adventure/outdoors/2016/06/16/hikers-beware-cow-parsnip-can-inflict-pain-on-those-who-dont-take-precautions/,
accessed June 7, 2024
NYS DEC; “Cow Parsnip” https://dec.ny.gov/nature/animals-fish-plants/cow-parsnip#:~:text=Cow%20parsnip%20is%20not%20considered,from%20sunlight%20for%2048%20hours,
accessed June 7, 2024
USDA; “common
cowparsnip”, https://plants.sc.egov.usda.gov/home/plantProfile?symbol=HEMA80,
accessed June 7, 2024
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