Between Sooke & Port Renfrew are moist roadside drainage ditches brimming with Heracleum lanatum.

Commonly named Cow Parsnip or Indian Parsley, you’d expect a gourmet treat, but it’s not something I’d eat.

The massive maple leaf distinguishes it from the more toxic Giant Hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum)  & poisonous Water  Hemlock (Cicuta).

Even still, this beauty contains a milky sap that is photo-toxic, kinda like euphorbia & poinsettia.  Once exposed to sunshine, any skin that contacted the sap burns & blisters. Nasty.

But wait – there are some positive notes:

• The giant flowers are landing pads for butterflies. It’s important to many native pollinators.
• In its happy place, Cow parsnip can reach 3 metres  – – that’s 10 feet tall!  That’s architecturally impressive.
• It’s hairy – and deer seem to avoid fuzzy plants.  Perhaps they’re finicky that way.
• Cow Parsnip is said to be kinda stinky.  I didn’t notice, but now that I think about it, I wandered into this patch of Cow Parsnip after 5 days of camping – – so my own stink may have been masking all other smells…
  Deer seem to avoid fragrant plants, so there’s a fair chance that Cow Parsnip is safe from them.

Hmmm, I might not be desperate enough for its food value, but I just might find a spot for Cow Parsnip in our landscape.  Imagine this self-seeding biennial as a garden ornamental at the back of a moist bed or border.

-30-