Heracleum (plant)
| Heracleum | |
|---|---|
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| Flower and leaf of Cow Parsnip | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Asterids |
| Order: | Apiales |
| Family: | Apiaceae |
| Genus: | Heracleum L. |
| Species | |
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See text (about 60) | |
Heracleum is a genus of about 60 species (depending on taxonomic interpretation) of biennial and perennial herbs in the carrot family Apiaceae. They are found throughout the temperate northern hemisphere and in high mountains as far south as Ethiopia. Common names for the genus or its species include hogweed[1] and cow parsnip.[2][3]
Major species include:
- Heracleum mantegazzianum, Giant hogweed, is a native of the Caucasus Mountains, grows to 4–5 m tall, and can cause severe phytophotodermatitis if the sap gets on human skin. The main mechanism for this dermatitis is extreme photosensitivity, causing severe sunburn on exposure to relatively small amounts of sunlight, with rash and blistering appearing within a few minutes: accordingly immediately covering sap-affected skin can prevent the dermatitis in many cases. It has become a serious invasive weed in many areas of Europe and North America, after being introduced as a garden plant.
- Heracleum persicum, Persian hogweed, is similar in size and properties to the giant hogweed, and was originally from Iran, Iraq and Turkey; it is known in northern Norway as the Tromsø palm.
- Heracleum sphondylium, Common hogweed, is common in Europe.
- Heracleum maximum (synonyms: Heracleum sphondylium subsp. montanum, Heracleum lanatum), Cow parsnip, is common in North America
- Heracleum nepalense is common in Sikkim and Darjeeling district of India. Called chimphing in the Nepali language, it is considered medicinal for stomach ailments and its seeds are ground with tomato and taken as a relish, especially with boiled vegetables.
Gallery
Cow Parsnip (Heracleum lanatum)
Common hogweed (Heracleum sphondylium)
Giant hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum)
Sosnowskyi hogweed (Heracleum sosnowskyi)
Species
Note that this is a full list of the 187 names described in the genus; the majority of these names are treated as synonyms of earlier-described species by most botanists.
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References
- ↑ hogweed at Oxford Online Dictionaries
- ↑ Bailey, L.H.; Bailey, E.Z.; the staff of the Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium (1976). Hortus third: A concise dictionary of plants cultivated in the United States and Canada. New York: Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-02-505470-7.
- ↑ "Heracleum L.". Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden. Retrieved 11 Oct 2011.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Heracleum. |
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Wikispecies has information related to: Heracleum |
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 7/25/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.