Common Cowparsnip

More info for the term: forb

common cowparsnip
American cowparsnip
cow parsnip


TAXONOMY:
The scientific name of common cowparsnip is Heracleum maximum Bartr.
[26,39,46,78,80,94] (Apiaceae). There are no recognized infrataxa.


LIFE FORM:
Forb

FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS:
No special status

OTHER STATUS:
NO-ENTRY





DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Heracleum maximum
GENERAL DISTRIBUTION:
Common cowparsnip occurs from Newfoundland west to Alaska and south to
California, Arizona, New Mexico, Kansas, Missouri, and Georgia
[22,26,30,47,68]. It is not found in northern Canada or in the extreme
southern and southeastern regions of the United States.

Common cowparsnip occurs from Newfoundland west to Alaska and south to
California, Arizona, New Mexico, Kansas, Missouri, and Georgia
[22,26,30,47,68]. It is not found in northern Canada or in the extreme
southern and southeastern regions of the United States.


Distribution of common cowparsnip. Map courtesy of USDA, NRCS. 2018. The PLANTS Database.
National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC [2018, January 29] [78].

More info for the terms: association, climax, fern, forest, grassland, habitat type, shrubland

Common cowparsnip occurs in a wide variety of forested habitat types, as well
as grassland, shrubland, meadow, alpine, and riparian zones
[3,13,14,34,85].

Common cowparsnip is a member of the Pacific silver fir (Abies amabilis)
old-growth forest in Washington [2]. Common cowparsnip occurs in whitebark
pine (Pinus albicaulis) communities of Montana [3]. It is a common
understory species in subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa) and Engelmann
spruce (Picea engelmannii) habitat types of the Intermountain West
[9,12,20,69]. A subalpine fir/common cowparsnip association in Montana, and a
common cowparsnip-western coneflower (Rudbeckia occidentalis) community type
in Wyoming are described [14,20]. A climax black hawthorn (Crataegus
douglasii)-common cowparsnip habitat type has been described for Washington
and Idaho [13,50]. A climax quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides)/common cow
parsnip habitat type has been described for Utah and Wyoming [57,58].

Common cowparsnip is found in seral quaking aspen community types in Wyoming,
Idaho, Utah, Colorado, and Montana [7,34,41,57,58,85], and is a dominant
understory species in quaking aspen-dominated communities of Utah,
Colorado, and Montana [41,64]. An quaking aspen/common cowparsnip habitat
type has been described for Colorado and Idaho [34,41]. In Canada, common cow
parsnip is a member of the subboreal, aspen-dominated spruce zone [8,11,75].

In eastern Idaho, western Wyoming, and northern Utah, common cowparsnip occurs
in a red-osier dogwood (Cornus sericea)/common cowparsnip riparian habitat
type [86]. A California false hellebore (Veratrum californicum)-common cowparsnip
habitat type has been described in Washington [32]. Common cowparsnip
occurs in riparian areas dominated by willow (Salix spp.) throughout the
Intermountain West [19,29,77].

The following publications list common cowparsnip as a community dominant or
codominant:

Steppe vegetation of Washington [13]
A vegetation study in the subalpine zone of the western North Cascades,
Washington [20]
Riparian community type classification of eastern Idaho-western Wyoming
[86]

Species not previously mentioned but commonly associated with common cow
parsnip include incense-cedar (Calocedrus decurrens), black cottonwood
(Populus trichocarpa var. hastata), narrowleaf cottonwood (P.
angustifolia), thinleaf alder (Alnus incana ssp. tenuifolia), Sitka
alder (A. sinuata), bigtooth maple (Acer grandidentatum), bigleaf maple
(A. macrophyllum), Pacific yew (Taxus brevifolia), dwarf bilberry
(Vaccinium myrtillus), grouse whortleberry (V. scoparium), roses (Rosa
spp.), mountain snowberry (Symphoricarpos oreophilus), western snowberry
(S. occidentalis), Saskatoon serviceberry (Amelanchier alnifolia),
bristly gooseberry (Ribes setosum), common chokecherry (Prunus
virginiana), California hazel (Corylus cornuta var. californica), fowl
bluegrass (Poa palustris), California brome (Bromus carinatus), blue
wildrye (Elymus glaucus), field horsetail (Equisetum arvense), bluejoint
reedgrass (Calamagrostis canadensis), fireweed (Epilobium
angustifolium), western aster (Aster occidentalis), large-leaved avens
(Geum macrophyllum), sweet-scented bedstraw (Galium triflorum), stinging
nettle (Urtica dioica), Sitka valerian (Valeriana sitchensis), smooth
woodrush (Luzuli hitchcockii), menziesia (Menziesia ferruginea),
queencup beadlily (Clintonia uniflora), tall larkspur (Delphinium
occidentalis), Richardson's geranium (Geranium richardsonii), saw
groundsel (Senecio serra), and bracken fern (Pteridium aquilinum)
[11,12,20,29,57,58].

More info for the term: forb

Forb

More info for the terms: scarification, seed

In Washington common cowparsnip is sensitive to grazing and can be eliminated
from steppe vegetation if overgrazed [13]. In Colorado common cowparsnip
decreases with grazing [41]. Common cowparsnip is sensitive to soil
compaction or severe soil disturbances which may be caused by mechanical
scarification or trampling [9,67].

In high mountain ecosystems of Utah, common cowparsnip should be broadcast or
drill-seeded in the fall at 1 to 2 pounds per acre in a mixed seeding
for best forage results [38].

Parsnip webworm, a European-introduced herbivorous insect, feeds on
developing flowers and seeds of common cowparsnip. Floral herbivory can
decrease seed production by up to 40 percent and seed biomass 53 percent
[5,33].

Common cowparsnip appears to persist or increase after clearcutting [4,12],
but to decrease after soil scarification [87].

More info on this topic.

Common cowparsnip flowering dates are as follows:

Arizona July-Aug [42]
California Apr-July [59]
Colorado May-Aug [15]
Georgia May-Aug [63,83]
Kentucky May-Aug [63,83]
North Carolina May-Aug [63,83]
North Dakota Jun-Aug [15]
Tennessee May-Aug [63,83]
Utah Jun-Aug [15]
Virginia May-Aug [63,83]
West Virginia May-Aug [63,83]
Wyoming Jun-July [15]
Great Plains May-July [26]

Ground residual colonizer (on-site, initial community)

The scientific name of common cowparsnip is Heracleum maximum Bartr.
[26,39,46,78,80,94] (Apiaceae). There are no recognized infrataxa.