Be careful: burns of cow parsnip are dangerous!

We must not forget about one very dangerous plant that is increasingly spreading throughout Russia in the summer time. Cow parsnip (heraclium) is a huge plant (up to 2.5–3 m) with thick stems and large umbrellas of white flowers.

The thing is that the cow parsnip is phototoxic. Clear watery juice of this plant contains a photosensitive substance from the group of furanokumariny. Getting on the skin, they cause burns.