cow parsnip
Heracleum maximum
USDA zones3 to 10
SunHandles full sun or partial sun or full shade
WaterHandles moderate to wet soil
Size4 to 8 feet tall
- Growth rate
- Rapid
- Habit
- Herb
- Bloom season
- Spring, summer, autumn, winter
- Bloom color
- White
- Foliage color
- Green
- Soil types
- Sand, loam, clay
- Soil pH
- Acid, neutral
Garden uses
Attracts
Notes
Cow parsnip (Heracleum maximum) is a perennial for pollinator gardens, meadows, and low maintenance planting. This plant likes full sun to full shade and average to wet, sandy, loamy, or clay soil. It grows fast and can reach about 94 inches tall. Flat umbels of tiny white flowers draw butterflies, bees, and birds. Give it plenty of room, because the huge leaves and stout stems make it the largest species of the carrot family in North America.
Pairs well with Western coneflower, Red twig dogwood, and Dwarf serviceberry.
Native range
AK, AZ, CA, CO, and 43 more places. See all 47
AK, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DE, GA, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MT, NC, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OH, OR, PA, RI, SD, TN, UT, VA, VT, WA, WI, WV, WY; AB, BC, NB, NL, NS, ON, and PE.