Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Campanulids: Apiales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Heracleum maximum
FAMILY
Apiaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Read more about Cow-parsnip at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Heracleum maximum
FAMILY
Apiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Heracleum maximum
SYNONYMOUS WITH Great Plains Flora Association (1986)
Heracleum sphondylium ssp. montanum
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 140-36-001:
Heracleum lanatum FAMILY Apiaceae
COMMON NAME:
Cow-parsnip, American Hogweed, Masterwort
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_hela4_001_lvd
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide pnd_hema80_004_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm0505n_08
May Jackson County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
JK Marlow s050522_ab
May Jackson County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
The large leaves are divided into 3 toothed, lobed, maple-like leaflets, per Wildflowers of the Blue Ridge Parkway (Alderman, 1997).
COMPARE
compound leaves of woodland herbs, with toothed margins
)
JK Marlow jkm0506p_21
June Jackson County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
Umbels up to 8" across; outer flowers larger with lobed petals, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
)
JK Marlow jkm0506p_23
June Jackson County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
The sheaths of the petioles expanded to as much as 2" wide, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
)
JK Marlow jkm0506p_24
June Jackson County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
JK Marlow jkm090707_028
July Avery County NC
The Roan Highlands
)
JK Marlow jkm090707_029
July Avery County NC
The Roan Highlands
The umbels are compound; peduncles tomentose to villous, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm090707_031
July Avery County NC
The Roan Highlands
)
JK Marlow jkm090707_034
July Avery County NC
The Roan Highlands
Fruit puberulent or glabrate, strongly flattened, oil tubes clearly visible, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm090707_037
July Avery County NC
The Roan Highlands
)
JK Marlow jkm090707_040
July Avery County NC
The Roan Highlands
)
JK Marlow jkm090707_043
July Avery County NC
The Roan Highlands
)
JK Marlow jkm090707_082
July Avery County NC
The Roan Highlands
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Heracleum maximum
FAMILY
Apiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Heracleum maximum
FAMILY
Apiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Heracleum maximum
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Great Plains Flora Association (1986)
Heracleum sphondylium ssp. montanum
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 140-36-001:
Heracleum lanatum
FAMILY
Apiaceae
662
Forb
Biennial
Habitat: northern hardwood forests, roadbanks, meadows, forest openings, grassy balds, rich floodplain forests, per Weakley's Flora
Native to North Carolina & Georgia
Uncommon in NC Mountains, rare in GA
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Ternately or pinnately compound
Alternate
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
White
Somewhat asymmetrical
5-merous
Inferior ovary
Bisexual & staminate
Flowers in compound umbels
FRUIT:
Summer
Schizocarp of two mericarps
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p218
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p149
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p170
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p214
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p114
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
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