#heracleum

[nordicsublime]

Heracleum

[wikipediapictures]

Zaaddozen van gewone berenklauw (Heracleum sphondylium). 10-08-2023. (actm.) 02

“Seed pods of Heracleum sphondylium. Focus stack of 89 photos.” - via Wikimedia Commons

[depthofnowhere]

my insta

[kingdrawcse]

Chemistry behind Giant Hogweed

Giant hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum), also known as "cow parsnip," is a perennial herbaceous plant in the Apiaceae family. It is native to the Caucasus and Central Asia and was introduced to the United Kingdom as a horticultural plant in the 19th century. The entire giant hogweed plant contains furanocoumarin compounds, with the main components methoxsalen, psoralen, and bergapten🌿⚠️.

These compounds have a unique feature - they're phototoxic! 😱 When the plant's sap comes in contact with your skin and is exposed to sunlight (UV radiation), it can cause "phytophotodermatitis" - an intense reaction that resembles a burn. 🔥

The symptoms include redness, swelling, blistering, pigmentation, and scarring that can last for months. 😫If exposed to giant hogweed sap, the best course of action is to immediately rinse the affected area with a large amount of water, cover it with clothing to avoid exposure to bright light and seek medical advice from a healthcare professional if the symptoms are severe.

[veiligplekje]

[cheesewizards]

Pixel Exquisite Corpse Connect Poster #2 - Painters/Midnight Rose Section Individual credits in second image

[botanizing]

Heracleum maximum (Apiaceae)

cow parsnip

Wagner Natural Area | Dec. 11, 2020

[vandaliatraveler]

Cow parsnip (Heracleum maximum), also known as Indian rhubarb and Indian parsley, is a tall, elegant herbaceous perennial of Central Appalachia’s mountainous regions; it is North America’s only indigenous member of Heracleum, which includes that infamously-phototoxic import, giant hogweed. While cow parsnip contains the same phototoxic chemicals as its relatives, contact with the juice of the mature leaves and stalk causes only minor skin irritation when the area is exposed to sunlight - not the severe, long-lasting blistering associated with hogweed. In fact, Native Americans ate the young shoots of this plant raw and boiled its roots to extract the sugar. Cow parsnip is also an extremely valuable wildlife plant; it’s browsed by deer and livestock and its lovely white flower clusters, so characteristic of the carrot family, draw a wide variety of pollinators. The plant’s deeply-dissected, palmate leaves are quite large and showy and make for an impressive display along shady roadsides and trails.  The above photos were taken on Spruce Knob and in the Seneca Creek Backcountry.