Heracleum pubescens

Heracleum pubescens is known as downy cow-parsnip. It belongs to Apiaceae, the carrot family. Kew places its native range in southern Crimea. It grows in a temperate climate. The RHS records it as non-native to Britain and Ireland. Its profile also marks the name as unresolved. The sources describe it as a biennial or perennial. This means its life cycle may span two years or more.

Plants For A Future gives a height of about 2.6 feet [0.8 metres]. The supplied records give no width for a mature plant. They also lack details on its stems and leaves. No species-level account of its flowers or fruit appears here. The flowers have both male and female organs. Insects pollinate them, and the plant is self-fertile. The evidence gives no flowering season or seed-ripening dates.

Its recorded habitat is damp ground in shaded places. In gardens, it prefers moist soil but accepts a broad soil range. Sand, loam and clay all fall within that range. It also accepts mildly acid, neutral and mildly alkaline soil. PFAF says it grows in sun, part shade or full shade. Its landscape notes favour dappled woodland shade and shaded edges. Those notes exclude deep shade, unlike the broader growing account. A moist site with some shade fits both accounts best. The evidence gives no hardiness zone or minimum winter temperature.

PFAF suggests this plant for woodland gardens and shaded borders. It reports no weed potential for the species. Seed can be sown where plants will grow. The stated sowing periods are mid-to-late spring and early autumn. Autumn division offers another way to raise plants. The supplied sources give no species-level pest or disease details. They also provide no growth rate or pruning guidance. These gaps limit how fully its garden care can be described.

PFAF lists leaves, shoots and stems as edible parts. It describes young shoots as sweet and aromatic when raw. The source gives edibility a score of two out of five. It lists no known medicinal or other uses. Its hazard note draws on relatives, not this species. That note does not establish toxicity for Heracleum pubescens. Nor does the supplied evidence establish that handling it is safe.