Cow Parsnip Seeds (Heracleum maximum)

One of our best pollinator plants! At up to 7 feet in height with massive white umbels and large leaves over a foot in width, this is not your average wildflower. And yet for people who are fascinated by watching a constant parade of different types of insects, this is potentially the best plant we sell. Countless types of native bees, wasps, flies, butterflies, moths, and beetles, hum across the flowers, collecting the readily available nectar from the shallow florets. But because cow parsnip is a biennial, it makes you wait – just growing its root system and foliage in first year, then sending up its towering flowers in the second year. Because of its large size, this is a plant for the wild edges of a garden. In natural settings it tends to hang out in fertile damp soils, sunny river bottoms, and woodland edges. It would probably do great in the edges of hedgerows, or growing as a cluster in a sun dappled urban alley to see what insects are in the neighborhood. It’s native to most o