Heracleum sosnowskyi
Encyclopedia
Heracleum sosnowskyi or Sosnowsky's Hogweed, is a flowering plant
in the family
Apiaceae
, originally native to Caucasus
. Now it is a common weed
in the Baltic States
, Belarus
, Russia
.
The species is named for the honor of Russian botanist Dmitry Sosnovsky.
Heracleum sosnowskyi is up to 5 meters in height, with a straight, firm stem
. The leaves
are 50–60 cm long. The root
is very firm, up to 30 cm diameter. The inflorescence
is a big umbel
found at the end of every stem. It blooms during July through September and produces thousands of seed
s. They are easily distributed by the wind but especially by the water.
All parts of Heracleum sosnowskyi contain the intense toxic allergen
furanocoumarin
. It is dangerous for humans because even small drops of plant's juice cause photosensitivity
and burn
s. The plant is less dangerous for animals that have thick hair to protect them from the sun. In Russia, Heracleum sosnowskyi once was used as a silage
plant, and some people used it as a decorative plant. Flowers are largely visited by flies and beetles; bees do not appear to favor its nectar.
The plant was once common only in the Caucuses area, however due to a decision to use it as a silage plant it quickly spread in many areas of Russia and Belarus. This decision was made in 1947, under Stalin's rule, so later, when the species proved to be highly invasive and difficult to remove, people started to call it "Stalin's revenge".. It is unclear however, how widespread this naming was before the media picked it up as a catchy name. It could be possible that this name was in fact coined by the Russian media in the end of the 90s or the early 2000s, but since then it has become pretty common in the news.
Heracleum sosnowskyi is a highly invasive plant in the Baltic States, Poland and Belarus. Many river valleys and roadsides are occupied by large stands of this weed. It is difficult to eradicate because the seeds remain viable for many years and the roots are difficult to remove. Herbicide
s are widely used in a fight against Heracleum sosnowskyi but plant can later resprout from the roots.
Flowering plant
The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...
in the family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Apiaceae
Apiaceae
The Apiaceae , commonly known as carrot or parsley family, is a group of mostly aromatic plants with hollow stems. The family is large, with more than 3,700 species spread across 434 genera, it is the sixteenth largest family of flowering plants...
, originally native to Caucasus
Caucasus
The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
. Now it is a common weed
Weed
A weed in a general sense is a plant that is considered by the user of the term to be a nuisance, and normally applied to unwanted plants in human-controlled settings, especially farm fields and gardens, but also lawns, parks, woods, and other areas. More specifically, the term is often used to...
in the Baltic States
Baltic states
The term Baltic states refers to the Baltic territories which gained independence from the Russian Empire in the wake of World War I: primarily the contiguous trio of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania ; Finland also fell within the scope of the term after initially gaining independence in the 1920s.The...
, Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
.
The species is named for the honor of Russian botanist Dmitry Sosnovsky.
Heracleum sosnowskyi is up to 5 meters in height, with a straight, firm stem
Plant stem
A stem is one of two main structural axes of a vascular plant. The stem is normally divided into nodes and internodes, the nodes hold buds which grow into one or more leaves, inflorescence , conifer cones, roots, other stems etc. The internodes distance one node from another...
. The leaves
Leaves
-History:Vocalist Arnar Gudjonsson was formerly the guitarist with Mower, and he was joined by Hallur Hallsson , Arnar Ólafsson , Bjarni Grímsson , and Andri Ásgrímsson . Late in 2001 they played with Emiliana Torrini and drew early praise from the New York Times...
are 50–60 cm long. The root
Root
In vascular plants, the root is the organ of a plant that typically lies below the surface of the soil. This is not always the case, however, since a root can also be aerial or aerating . Furthermore, a stem normally occurring below ground is not exceptional either...
is very firm, up to 30 cm diameter. The inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
is a big umbel
Umbel
An umbel is an inflorescence which consists of a number of short flower stalks which are equal in length and spread from a common point, somewhat like umbrella ribs....
found at the end of every stem. It blooms during July through September and produces thousands of seed
Seed
A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
s. They are easily distributed by the wind but especially by the water.
All parts of Heracleum sosnowskyi contain the intense toxic allergen
Allergen
An allergen is any substance that can cause an allergy. In technical terms, an allergen is a non-parasitic antigen capable of stimulating a type-I hypersensitivity reaction in atopic individuals....
furanocoumarin
Furanocoumarin
Furanocoumarins, or furocoumarins, are a class of organic chemical compounds produced by a variety of plants. They are biosynthesized partly through the phenylpropanoid pathway and the mevalonate pathway, which is biosynthesized by a coupling of dimethylallyl pyrophosphate and 7-hydroxycoumarin...
. It is dangerous for humans because even small drops of plant's juice cause photosensitivity
Photosensitivity
Photosensitivity is the amount to which an object reacts upon receiving photons, especially visible light.- Human medicine :Sensitivity of the skin to a light source can take various forms. People with particular skin types are more sensitive to sunburn...
and burn
Burn
A burn is an injury to flesh caused by heat, electricity, chemicals, light, radiation, or friction.Burn may also refer to:*Combustion*Burn , type of watercourses so named in Scotland and north-eastern England...
s. The plant is less dangerous for animals that have thick hair to protect them from the sun. In Russia, Heracleum sosnowskyi once was used as a silage
Silage
Silage is fermented, high-moisture fodder that can be fed to ruminants or used as a biofuel feedstock for anaerobic digesters. It is fermented and stored in a process called ensiling or silaging, and is usually made from grass crops, including corn , sorghum or other cereals, using the entire...
plant, and some people used it as a decorative plant. Flowers are largely visited by flies and beetles; bees do not appear to favor its nectar.
The plant was once common only in the Caucuses area, however due to a decision to use it as a silage plant it quickly spread in many areas of Russia and Belarus. This decision was made in 1947, under Stalin's rule, so later, when the species proved to be highly invasive and difficult to remove, people started to call it "Stalin's revenge".. It is unclear however, how widespread this naming was before the media picked it up as a catchy name. It could be possible that this name was in fact coined by the Russian media in the end of the 90s or the early 2000s, but since then it has become pretty common in the news.
Heracleum sosnowskyi is a highly invasive plant in the Baltic States, Poland and Belarus. Many river valleys and roadsides are occupied by large stands of this weed. It is difficult to eradicate because the seeds remain viable for many years and the roots are difficult to remove. Herbicide
Herbicide
Herbicides, also commonly known as weedkillers, are pesticides used to kill unwanted plants. Selective herbicides kill specific targets while leaving the desired crop relatively unharmed. Some of these act by interfering with the growth of the weed and are often synthetic "imitations" of plant...
s are widely used in a fight against Heracleum sosnowskyi but plant can later resprout from the roots.
Safety instructions
Protective water-resistant clothing and protective glasses or goggles must be worn by the personnel when cutting the plant due to the risk of skin contact with splashes of the toxic sap and sap coated fragments of the plant A respirator is also heavily advised.See also
- Heracleum, the genus
- Other Europe invasive species Heracleum mantegazzianum and Heracleum persicumHeracleum persicumHeracleum persicum, commonly known as Golpar or Persian Hogweed, is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae, native to Iran...
- Native Europe hogweeds Heracleum sphondylium and Heracleum sibiricum
- Species that can be mistaken for tall invasive hogweeds Wild Parsnip, Garden Angelica, Wild Angelica