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Persian Hogweed

Heracleum persicum

Persian Hogweed
Photo: Ryan Hodnett, CC BY-SA 4.0

Persian hogweed (golpar) is a large perennial herb in the carrot family, native to humid mountains of Iran and nearby areas, and a species rather than a genus. Its sap causes skin burns with sunlight, so handle it with gloves and avoid contact before going into the sun.

Family
Apiaceae (Carrot family)
Grows as
Perennial, Palm
Light
Full sun, Part shade
Water
Keep soil evenly moist during the growing season, as it prefers humid conditions.
Soil
Moist, fertile, well-drained garden soil.
Temperature
Hardy in cool temperate climates; protect young plants from severe frost.
How easy
Easy
Safety
Toxic: Sap contains furanocoumarins that cause phytophotodermatitis: skin blistering and burns after contact followed by sunlight exposure. Some sources suggest it is less phototoxic than giant hogweed.
Edible
Yes, some parts
Native range
E. & SE. Türkiye to Iran
Climate
temperate

About

Heracleum persicum, commonly known as Persian hogweed or by its native name golpar (Persian: گلپر), is a species of hogweed, a perennial herbaceous plant in the carrot family Apiaceae. It grows wild in humid mountainous regions in Iran and some adjacent areas. Having been introduced in the 1830s, it has spread across Scandinavia. It is now very common in northern Norway, where one of its names is Tromsø palm (after the city of Tromsø).

The plant has also been spotted in Sweden. In Finland, it has been declared an invasive species.

Safety

The sap of the Tromsø palm contains furanocoumarins, which in combination with ultraviolet light, leads to phytophotodermatitis. There is some anecdotal evidence that H. persicum may be less dangerous than H. mantegazzianum with respect to phototoxicity.

Other Heracleum plants

Giant Hogweed · Sosnowsky's Hogweed · Hogweed · Cowparsnip

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Heracleum persicum by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

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