''Heracleum'' is a genus of

biennial Biennial means (an event) lasting for two years or occurring every two years. The related term biennium is used in reference to a period of two years. In particular, it can refer to: * Biennial plant, a plant which blooms in its second year and th ...

and

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

herbs in the carrot family

Apiaceae Apiaceae or Umbelliferae is a family of mostly aromatic flowering plants named after the type genus '' Apium'' and commonly known as the celery, carrot or parsley family, or simply as umbellifers. It is the 16th-largest family of flowering plant ...

. They are found throughout the temperate northern hemisphere and in high mountains as far south as

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. Common names for the genus or its species include hogweed and cow parsnip. The genus name ''Heracleum'' was described by

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, ...

in 1753. It derives from the

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() "of

Heracles Heracles ( ; grc-gre, Ἡρακλῆς, , glory/fame of Hera), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adopt ...

", referring to the mythological hero.

Species

Many species of the genus ''Heracleum'' are similar in appearance. An outlier is ''H. mantegazzianum'', the large size of which is exceptional. Common species include: * ''

Heracleum mantegazzianum ''Heracleum mantegazzianum'', commonly known as giant hogweed, is a monocarpic perennial herbaceous plant in the carrot family Apiaceae. ''H. mantegazzianum'' is also known as cartwheel-flower, giant cow parsley, giant cow parsnip, or hogsb ...

'', giant hogweed, native to the western

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...

region of

Eurasia Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelag ...

, a serious

invasive species An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species adv ...

in many areas of Europe and North America * ''

Heracleum sosnowskyi ''Heracleum sosnowskyi'', or Sosnowsky's hogweed, is a monocarpic perennial herbaceous flowering plant in the carrot family Apiaceae. Its native range includes the central and eastern Caucasus regions of Eurasia and extends into the southern Cauc ...

'', Sosnowsky's hogweed, native to the eastern Caucasus, a common weed throughout Europe and Asia * ''

Heracleum persicum ''Heracleum persicum'', commonly known as Persian hogweed or by its native name ''Golpar'' ( fa, گلپر) is a species of hogweed, a perennial herbaceous plant in the carrot family Apiaceae. It grows wild in humid mountainous regions in Iran ...

'', Persian hogweed, native to Iran, Iraq, and Turkey * ''

Heracleum sphondylium ''Heracleum sphondylium'', commonly known as hogweed, common hogweed or cow parsnip, is a herbaceous perennial or biennial plant, in the umbelliferous family Apiaceae that includes fennel, cow parsley, ground elder and giant hogweed. It is nati ...

'', common hogweed, native to Europe and Asia * ''

Heracleum maximum ''Heracleum maximum'', commonly known as cow parsnip, is the only member of the genus '' Heracleum'' native to North America. It is also known as American cow-parsnip, Satan celery, Indian celery, Indian rhubarb or pushki. Description Cow p ...

'', cow parsnip, native and common in North America ,

Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. It was launched in March 2017 with the ultimate aim being "to enable users to access information on all the world's known seed-bearing plants ...

accepts the following 88 species:, it had previously in 2019, up to 148.

Classification and naming

Other than size, the related species ''H. mantegazzianum'', ''H. sosnowskyi'', and ''H. persicum'' have very similar characteristics. The common name giant hogweed usually refers to ''H. mantegazzianum'' alone but in some locales that common name refers to all three species as a group. Both ''H. maximum'' and ''H. sphondylium'' are often referred to as cow parsnip. To avoid confusion, these species are sometimes referred to as American cow parsnip and European cow parsnip, respectively. The morphological similarity of species within the genus ''Heracleum'' and the difficulty of botanical identification has led to numerous synonyms and naming issues. For example, the classification of the species now widely known as ''H. maximum'' has been inconsistent. In the literature, the scientific names ''H. lanatum'', ''H. maximum'', and others are used interchangeably. Prior to 2000, the former name was most popular, but today the latter name is in vogue.

Phototoxic effects

Most species of the genus ''Heracleum'' are known to cause

phytophotodermatitis Phytophotodermatitis, also known as berloque dermatitis or margarita photodermatitis, is a cutaneous phototoxic inflammatory reaction resulting from contact with a light-sensitizing botanical agent followed by exposure to ultraviolet light (from t ...

. In particular, the public health risks of giant hogweed (''H. mantegazzianum'') are well known. At least 36 species of the genus ''Heracleum'' have been reported to contain

furanocoumarin The furanocoumarins, or furocoumarins, are a class of organic chemical compounds produced by a variety of plants. Most of the plant species found to contain furanocoumarins belong to a handful of plant families. The families Apiaceae and Rutac ...

, a chemical compound that sensitizes human skin to sunlight. Of those, at least 25 species contained a

psoralen Psoralen (also called psoralene) is the parent compound in a family of naturally occurring organic compounds known as the linear furanocoumarins. It is structurally related to coumarin by the addition of a fused furan ring, and may be considered ...

derivative, either

bergapten Bergapten (5-methoxypsoralen) is a naturally-occurring organic chemical compound produced by numerous plant species, especially from the carrot family Apiaceae and the citrus family Rutaceae. For example, bergapten has been extracted from 24 ...

(5-methoxypsoralen) or

methoxsalen Methoxsalen, sold under the brand name Oxsoralen among others, is a medication used to treat psoriasis, eczema, vitiligo, and some cutaneous lymphomas in conjunction with exposing the skin to ultraviolet (UVA) light from lamps or sunlight. Methox ...

(8-methoxypsoralen). Three of those species (''H. mantegazzianum'', ''H. sosnowskyi'', and ''H. sphondylium'') were found to contain both psoralen derivatives.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q327106 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Apioideae Poisonous plants Apioideae genera