Native Talk Tuesday #8

The plant featured in today's Native Talk Tuesday is Heracleum lanatum, commonly known as the Cow-Parsnip. This stinky plant, which has a hollow stem, develops clusters of white flowers. The Cow-Parsnip is often found along the streambanks, moist slopes, meadows, thickets, and along roadsides of the Pacific Northwest all the way to the Kenai Penninsula in Alaska. Occurring from sea level to alpine elevations, it is quite easy to find.

Cow-Parsnip at Sarah Helmick State Park

Before the flowers mature, the young stalks and leaf stems can be pealed or eaten raw or boiled like the Natives have done for centuries. The outer skin of the Cow-Parsnip contains a type of poison that can cause skin damage such as rashes, so unless you know how to handle the Cow-Parsnip, it is better to leave it alone. Due to this problem, the Cow-Parsnip is cut down along trails in the Oregon State Park System to keep visitors safe.