Index / Search / Heracleum maximum
§1 Plant
Heracleum maximum W. Bartram
vernacular common cowparsnip — species · Apiaceae
§2Habit & range
Habit and range
- Growth habit
- Forb/herb
- Duration
- Perennial
- Group
- Dicot
- Family
- Apiaceae Lindl.
- Genus
- Heracleum
§2a
Native status, by region
- AK Alaska Native
- CAN Canada Native
- L48 Lower 48 States Native
- SPM St. Pierre & Miquelon Native
§2b
County-level range
· 435 counties across 23 states/territories§3Cultivation specs · USDA
Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.
§3a
Tolerances
- Drought
- Low
- Shade
- High
- Moisture use
- High
- Fire
- High
- Salinity
- None
- Anaerobic
- Medium
- CaCO₃
- Medium
- Hedging
- None
§3b
Climate & soil
- Cold tolerance
- -38 °F minimum
- Frost-free days
- 110 min.
- Precipitation
- 14–45 in/yr
- pH range
- 5.4–7.3
- Root depth
- 12 in min.
- Fertility need
- Medium
- Soil texture
- coarse, medium, fine
§3c
Form & growth
- Growth form
- Multiple Stem
- Growth rate
- Moderate
- Lifespan
- Short
- Mature height
- 8 ft
- Foliage texture
- Coarse
- Foliage colour
- Green
- Porosity (summer)
- Porous
- Porosity (winter)
- Porous
- Flower colour
- White
- Fruit colour
- Brown
- Fire resistant
- No
- N fixation
- None
- Toxicity
- Slight
§3d
Reproduction
- Bloom period
- Early Summer
- Seed abundance
- High
- Seed begins
- Summer
- Seed ends
- Summer
- Spread rate
- Rapid
- Stratify
- No
- Seeds / lb
- 47,569
- Propagation
- seed
§3e
Use & availability
- Commercial availability
- Routinely Available
- Nursery stock
- No
- Browse palatability
- Medium
- Graze palatability
- Medium
- Palatable, human
- Yes
- Protein potential
- Low
- Lumber
- No
- Christmas tree
- No
§4Counties, by state
Recorded in 435 counties across 23 states/territories.
Alaska view state ↗ 22 N ▾
- Aleutians East 02013
- Aleutians West 02016
- Anchorage 02020
- Bethel 02050
- Chugach 02063
- Copper River 02066
- Denali 02068
- Dillingham 02070
- Haines 02100
- Juneau 02110
- Kenai Peninsula 02122
- Ketchikan Gateway 02130
- Kodiak Island 02150
- Lake and Peninsula 02164
- Matanuska-Susitna 02170
- Nome 02180
- North Slope 02185
- Northwest Arctic 02188
- Sitka 02220
- Southeast Fairbanks 02240
- Yakutat 02282
- Yukon-Koyukuk 02290
Arizona view state ↗ 4 N ▾
Delaware view state ↗ 1 N ▾
Illinois view state ↗ 55 N ▾
- Alexander 17003
- Boone 17007
- Bureau 17011
- Carroll 17015
- Cass 17017
- Champaign 17019
- Christian 17021
- Clark 17023
- Cook 17031
- Cumberland 17035
- De Witt 17039
- DeKalb 17037
- DuPage 17043
- Effingham 17049
- Fulton 17057
- Grundy 17063
- Hancock 17067
- Henderson 17071
- Henry 17073
- Iroquois 17075
- Jackson 17077
- Jo Daviess 17085
- Kane 17089
- Kankakee 17091
- Kendall 17093
- Knox 17095
- Lake 17097
- LaSalle 17099
- Lee 17103
- Livingston 17105
- Logan 17107
- Macon 17115
- Macoupin 17117
- Marion 17121
- Marshall 17123
- McDonough 17109
- McHenry 17111
- McLean 17113
- Ogle 17141
- Peoria 17143
- Piatt 17147
- Pike 17149
- Pope 17151
- Rock Island 17161
- Sangamon 17167
- Shelby 17173
- St. Clair 17163
- Stark 17175
- Stephenson 17177
- Vermilion 17183
- Warren 17187
- Washington 17189
- Whiteside 17195
- Will 17197
- Winnebago 17201
Indiana view state ↗ 18 N ▾
Iowa view state ↗ 22 N ▾
- Calhoun 19025
- Carroll 19027
- Cherokee 19035
- Clarke 19039
- Clay 19041
- Crawford 19047
- Decatur 19053
- Dickinson 19059
- Emmet 19063
- Guthrie 19077
- Hancock 19081
- Harrison 19085
- Jackson 19097
- Kossuth 19109
- Lyon 19119
- Pocahontas 19151
- Pottawattamie 19155
- Sac 19161
- Shelby 19165
- Story 19169
- Union 19175
- Webster 19187
Kansas view state ↗ 1 N ▾
Kentucky view state ↗ 6 N ▾
Maine view state ↗ 13 N ▾
Massachusetts view state ↗ 14 N ▾
Michigan view state ↗ 36 N ▾
- Alcona 26001
- Alger 26003
- Alpena 26007
- Baraga 26013
- Benzie 26019
- Berrien 26021
- Charlevoix 26029
- Cheboygan 26031
- Chippewa 26033
- Dickinson 26043
- Emmet 26047
- Gratiot 26057
- Houghton 26061
- Ingham 26065
- Iron 26071
- Jackson 26075
- Kalamazoo 26077
- Kent 26081
- Keweenaw 26083
- Leelanau 26089
- Mackinac 26097
- Macomb 26099
- Manistee 26101
- Marquette 26103
- Menominee 26109
- Midland 26111
- Monroe 26115
- Muskegon 26121
- Oakland 26125
- Ontonagon 26131
- Ottawa 26139
- Shiawassee 26155
- St. Clair 26147
- Van Buren 26159
- Washtenaw 26161
- Wayne 26163
Minnesota view state ↗ 58 N ▾
- Aitkin 27001
- Beltrami 27007
- Big Stone 27011
- Blue Earth 27013
- Brown 27015
- Carver 27019
- Cass 27021
- Chippewa 27023
- Chisago 27025
- Clay 27027
- Clearwater 27029
- Cook 27031
- Dodge 27039
- Douglas 27041
- Fillmore 27045
- Goodhue 27049
- Hennepin 27053
- Houston 27055
- Hubbard 27057
- Itasca 27061
- Jackson 27063
- Kanabec 27065
- Kandiyohi 27067
- Kittson 27069
- Lac qui Parle 27073
- Lake 27075
- Lake of the Woods 27077
- Lincoln 27081
- Lyon 27083
- Martin 27091
- McLeod 27085
- Meeker 27093
- Mille Lacs 27095
- Morrison 27097
- Mower 27099
- Nicollet 27103
- Norman 27107
- Olmsted 27109
- Otter Tail 27111
- Pine 27115
- Pipestone 27117
- Polk 27119
- Pope 27121
- Red Lake 27125
- Rice 27131
- Rock 27133
- Roseau 27135
- Sibley 27143
- St. Louis 27137
- Stearns 27145
- Swift 27151
- Traverse 27155
- Wabasha 27157
- Wadena 27159
- Waseca 27161
- Wilkin 27167
- Winona 27169
- Wright 27171
Montana view state ↗ 26 N ▾
- Beaverhead 30001
- Broadwater 30007
- Carter 30011
- Cascade 30013
- Chouteau 30015
- Fergus 30027
- Flathead 30029
- Gallatin 30031
- Glacier 30035
- Jefferson 30043
- Lake 30047
- Lewis and Clark 30049
- Lincoln 30053
- Madison 30057
- Missoula 30063
- Park 30067
- Phillips 30071
- Pondera 30073
- Powell 30077
- Rosebud 30087
- Sanders 30089
- Stillwater 30095
- Sweet Grass 30097
- Teton 30099
- Valley 30105
- Yellowstone 30111
New Hampshire view state ↗ 7 N ▾
New Jersey view state ↗ 10 N ▾
New York view state ↗ 29 N ▾
- Albany 36001
- Allegany 36003
- Bronx 36005
- Cattaraugus 36009
- Cayuga 36011
- Chemung 36015
- Columbia 36021
- Delaware 36025
- Essex 36031
- Hamilton 36041
- Montgomery 36057
- Nassau 36059
- Oneida 36065
- Onondaga 36067
- Orange 36071
- Oswego 36075
- Queens 36081
- Rensselaer 36083
- Richmond 36085
- Saratoga 36091
- Schenectady 36093
- St. Lawrence 36089
- Suffolk 36103
- Tioga 36107
- Ulster 36111
- Warren 36113
- Washington 36115
- Wayne 36117
- Westchester 36119
North Carolina view state ↗ 12 N ▾
Pennsylvania view state ↗ 38 N ▾
- Allegheny 42003
- Armstrong 42005
- Beaver 42007
- Bedford 42009
- Blair 42013
- Bradford 42015
- Bucks 42017
- Butler 42019
- Centre 42027
- Chester 42029
- Clinton 42035
- Cumberland 42041
- Delaware 42045
- Franklin 42055
- Huntingdon 42061
- Lackawanna 42069
- Lancaster 42071
- Lehigh 42077
- Luzerne 42079
- McKean 42083
- Mercer 42085
- Mifflin 42087
- Montgomery 42091
- Northampton 42095
- Northumberland 42097
- Philadelphia 42101
- Potter 42105
- Snyder 42109
- Somerset 42111
- Susquehanna 42115
- Tioga 42117
- Union 42119
- Warren 42123
- Washington 42125
- Wayne 42127
- Westmoreland 42129
- Wyoming 42131
- York 42133
Rhode Island view state ↗ 3 N ▾
Tennessee view state ↗ 9 N ▾
Vermont view state ↗ 12 N ▾
Virginia view state ↗ 25 N ▾
- Albemarle 51003
- Amherst 51009
- Bedford 51019
- Botetourt 51023
- Carroll 51035
- Floyd 51063
- Giles 51071
- Grayson 51077
- Greene 51079
- Highland 51091
- Loudoun 51107
- Madison 51113
- Montgomery 51121
- Nelson 51125
- Page 51139
- Pulaski 51155
- Rappahannock 51157
- Roanoke 51161
- Rockbridge 51163
- Rockingham 51165
- Shenandoah 51171
- Smyth 51173
- Tazewell 51185
- Warren 51187
- Wise 51195
§5Sources & provenance
USDA PLANTS
Symbol, taxonomy, distribution, cultivation specs, native status. Public domain.
plants.usda.gov/HEMA80 ↗GBIF Backbone
Canonical taxonomic identity, synonym resolution, cross-refs. CC0.
gbif.org/species/3034826 ↗Record version
Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:
usda-plants-mt-2026-05-26
fetched 2026-05-26T07:25:30Z