Common Hogweed

How To ID Me And What I’m Good For?

My ID Features:

Seeds

Leaf

Underside of leaf

Stalk

Florette

Flowers

Common Hogweed

The umbellifer family are not for novice foragers, as they contain some of the world's most poisonous plants!

Latin Name - Heracleum sphondylium.

Common Names - Hogweed, Common Hogweed, Cow Parsnip, Cadweed, Clogweed, Eltrot, Giant parsnip, Madnep, Meadow Parsnip.

Family - Apiaceae.

Season - Predominantly Spring & Summer for fresh growth. But also, sometimes found in Autumn if cutting has occurred. The seeds can last well into winter.

Edible Bits - Leaves, unopened flower heads (florette), seeds, roots.

Habitat - It can be found almost anywhere. It is mostly found growing in damp ditches, hedgerows, riversides, open woodland, meadows and rough grassland.

Possible Confusion - Giant Hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum). We have read information that would suggest hybridisation between both species.

Safety Note - Common Hogweed has sometimes been known to cause irritation of the skin. It is recommended to wear gloves when picking (especially when sunny). Some have also been known to react to eating this plant, so it is best to eat a small piece first (ALWAYS after cooking) to test your tolerance. As with any new item to your diet.

How to differentiate between common & giant Hogweed - The leaves of giant hogweed are hairless, pale, glossy and deeply divided. Where as common hogweed are hairy, matt dark green hue & more rounded. The umbels (flower heads) are much smaller in common hogweed at around 20-30cm, where as it's giant counterpart has much larger umbels, sometimes twice the width. The stems are a great indicator as giant hogweed has red/purple blotches on its stem, whereas common does not. The stem of common hogweed also has a groove running down its stem, whereas giant does not. Another great way to differentiate between the two is its height. Common grows to around 2m high at its peak but giant grows to around 4m! Giant hogweed has between 40-50 flowers on each umbel where as common has around 20.

Description - It’s giant counterpart has gained a lot of notoriety is the media due to its phototoxic sap and serious cases of burning. But, if you really spend the time to learn both plants for a season or two, you'll be rewarded with an absolutely epic wild edible. The leaves are most commonly used like spinach. The young stems with leaves attached can be treated like asparagus. The unopened flower heads can be used like broccoli. Once the flower has gone to seed, it produces the most amazing cardamom-like native spice. And, the roots can be used to flavour stocks and soups. But, we haven't had the opportunity to use the roots ourselves as of yet.

Physical Characteristics - Common Hogweed is a tall, roughly hairy biennial usually growing up to 2 metres in height. The hollow, ridged stem with bristly hairs arises from a large tap root. The leaves can reach 50 centimetres of length. They are once or twice pinnate, hairy and serrated, divided into 3–5 lobed segments.

Hogweed has 5-petalled pinkish or white flowers, arranged in umbels usually less than 30 cm of diameter with 15 to 30 rays. Flowering usually occurs between June to September. Followed by the small fruits. They are flattened and winged, elliptical to rounded and glabrous (hairless), up to 1 cm long.

Medicinal Qualities - Mark from Galloway Wild Foods has a great write up on its nutritional profiles. The roots and the leaves are aphrodisiac, digestive, mildly expectorant and sedative.

Harvesting Sustainability - It’s such an abundant plant within the UK that you are unlikely to do any damage to the populations of hogweed. It's an incredibly resilient plant. So much so that, if cut, it will grow back. Seeing the plants re-emergence in autumn in such areas.

Never munch on a hunch! Volf takes no responsibility for anything consumed.

Now For The Tasty Bit!

Here Are Our Delicious Recipes Using Hogweed