Scientific name: Heracleum sphondylium L.
Common name: Hogweed
Description
Habit: A hairy perennial, 1- 1.5 m high.
Stems: Stout and grooved.
Leaves: Leaves large, pinnate; leaflets coarsely toothed and lobed, downy beneath.
Flowers: Creamy white, in terminal flat-topped umbels, with 15-30 rays; bracts and bracteoles absent or few; petals 5, free, stamens 5; ovary inferior and 2-celled.
Fruits: A schizocarp, 7-8 mm, oval, with persistent sepals.
Habitat: Meadows, pastures, roadsides and sand-dunes.
Distribution: Very frequent on limestone and shale, occasional to frequent in Connemara.
Native status: Native
Of conservation interest: No