Dear Renee,

Thanks so much for your report to the hotline!

I shared your response with Tanya Beard, Environmental Specialist-Botanist Marion County Department of Public Works, who is familiar with the site. She confirmed that thankfully the plants that your reported are actually cop parsnip. Cow parsnip looks almost identical to giant hogweed and are commonly confused. One way to distinguish them is that cow parsnip blooms in May,early June, whereas hogweed will bloom in late June, July. Giant hogweed also tends to be much more massive in height, stem width, leaf width. Here is a link to a fact sheet on hogweed if you would like additional info.

Thanks again for submitting this report! It is great to know there are concerned people like you out there looking for invasive species. Other species to look for are garlic mustard, orange hawkweed, spurge laurel, and yellow archangel. Thanks again for your great work!

Tania

Tania Siemens
Invasive Species Early Detection and Rapid Response Coordinator
The Nature Conservancy
WISE Program Coordinator (Watershed and Invasive Species Education)
Oregon Sea Grant Extension
tania.siemens@oregonstate.edu
541-914-0701

Tania Siemens
June 3, 2011, 7:49 a.m.