Heracleum nipponicum is a perennial herb occurring in damp
places on riversides; stems are thick, hollow, hairy, are erect, and
branch at the upperparts. Leaves are of a ternate compound or
mono-pinnate compound leaf; leaflets are cleft shallow or
intermediate, with margins coarsely serrated. Petioles swell at
bases as if enclosed in sheaths. Stem or branch tips create
prominently large compound umbels that grow to 20cm in diameter.
Flowers, 5-petaled, are white; the petals in peripheral part flowers
are different in shape from those in central parts - one of the
outers is significantly large and cleft in two. Bloom time:
May-June. |