Weird plant - what is it?
Thu 2nd April 2009, 10.21 pm
My walk to and from work often takes me along the right bank of the River Irwell, down a little-known public footpath.
Along the way I pass two of these very odd plants, like the one in the picture.
I can only describe them as looking like giant dandelion clocks. They are at least as tall as me and the clock on the top is larger than my head.
I don't think they're dead as they look like they're bearing some sort of seeds.
Has anyone got any ideas what they are?
Tagged as: weird river walk plant irwell dandelion
PigleT
on Fri 3rd April 2009, 10.30 am
Possibly some kind of Hogweed? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hogweed
davep
on Fri 3rd April 2009, 10.46 am
Yup, I think Pigle T has got it:
Kristina May
on Fri 17th April 2009, 1.40 pm
I don't think it is a hogweed - the umble is too spherical for most species.
I think what you have may be a rare example of a very tall and large Angelica (Angelica archangelica).
Like hogweed, it's a member of the Apiaceae (syn. Umbelliferae) which includes carrot, parsley, celery and a good number of very poisonous plants such as hemlock.
The family is huge and many species look very similar (especially when dead) so it's impossible to be sure.
The plant in the photo is dead. Many umbellifers are monocarpic perennials meaning they can live any number of years, but once they've flowered they set seed and die. Most sources describe them as either biennials or perennials which is an oversimplification.
Angelica often remains upright throughout winter and appears just as in your photo, but it's rare for them to get as tall as you describe.
Post a photo of some of the babies when they come up and a proper ID can be made. Thinking about it, I'm not happy with the thickness of the lateral stems on your plant - too skimpy.
