Hogweed
Heracleum spondylium Despite the unattractive sounding popular name, Hogweed is a magnificent plant whose popular name derives from the unpleasant piglike smell of the flowers rather than reflecting a coarse or ugly appearance. It is the largest of the Apiaceae or umbellifers that are to be found in Leazes Park and in high summer the flat discs of flowers can be above my head. Although you seldom find it in its full glory it does put in an appearance at other times of the year. I have found it during New Year plant hunts and I was prompted to start writing this post by a reappearance of the plant in late October 2020. In spite of the unpleasant fragrance of the mature flowers, the young shoots are supposed to make good eating but I would discourage anyone from eating members of this family harvested from the park. You only have to get it wrong once..... Taxonomy Hogweed belongs to the Apiaceae family that was discussed in a previous blog post. Other members of this family that h...