Wild Flowers Of Strathclyde Park
  
 

Hogweed
Heracleum sphondylium
of the Carrot family
a biennial
1-2.5m high
blooms April - September
likes grassy places, woods, roadsides
can be seen throughout the Park. This was at the road leading to the Visitor Centre

    
The scientific name, Heracleum, refers to the Greek hero Heracles (Roman Hercules). The ancients thought that Hogweed was a strong medicine. The plant's common name arises from its use, until recently, as a food for pigs. The leaves were once boiled and eaten by humans as a vegetable which tastes like asparagus.