Botanical atlas

Cow Parsnip

Heracleum lanatum

Cow parsnip grew alongside village trails and mountain meadows across North America long before it had an English name, and dozens of Native nations, from the Haida and Tlingit of the Pacific Northwest to the Blackfoot and Cree of the plains, knew it well. The young peeled stalks were eaten raw or cooked like a wild celery, prized as one of the first fresh greens of spring after a long winter of stored food. The roots were traditionally warmed and applied to sore joints and aching limbs, and a mild infusion of the plant was sometimes used to settle an upset stomach or ease a cough. It was a plant of practical, everyday value, gathered carefully and with real respect for its more dangerous relatives.

Safety.

Cow parsnip's clear sap contains furanocoumarins that react with sunlight on skin, causing phytophotodermatitis, a reaction that can produce painful redness, blistering, and dark scarring that lingers for months, sometimes even from brief contact. It is also easily confused with far more dangerous plants that share its meadows and stream banks, including deadly poison hemlock and water hemlock, both of which are lethal if eaten, as well as giant hogweed, whose sap causes even more severe burns. Because of this real risk of misidentification and skin injury, this entry does not include ingestion preparations. Any wild-gathered plant in this family should be identified only by an experienced forager or botanist, harvested with skin fully covered, and never handled by anyone who is pregnant, nursing, or unsure of the identification. Please speak with a qualified herbalist, botanist, or healthcare provider before using this or any wild plant.