Outdoor Elements
Cow Parsnip:Pollinator Magnet
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While out exploring, Evie came across Cow Parsnip—a towering wildflower that’s a magnet for pollinators. Learn how this native plant draws in bees, flies, and other insects, all searching for pollen among its broad blooms. 🌼🐝 #CowParsnip #PollinatorPlants #NativeWildflowers
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Outdoor Elements is a local public television program presented by PBS Michiana
Outdoor Elements
Cow Parsnip:Pollinator Magnet
Clip | 3m 8sVideo has Closed Captions
While out exploring, Evie came across Cow Parsnip—a towering wildflower that’s a magnet for pollinators. Learn how this native plant draws in bees, flies, and other insects, all searching for pollen among its broad blooms. 🌼🐝 #CowParsnip #PollinatorPlants #NativeWildflowers
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorshipHere's a really cool early summer wildflower that you might find in the southern Great Lakes region, along field edges or hedgerows.
It's called cow parsnip, and it's the largest native plant in the carrot family.
And you can kind of see a little bit of resemblance when you've ever let your carrots in your garden go to seed, they get these flat top flowers.
The flower cluster being flat topped is known as an umble, and each umble is separated into smaller umbels or umbellets and white.
The interesting thing is, if you look really closely, the flowers in the center have fewer cuts or divisions than the flowers along the outside and underneath each of those, umbellets there are little green bracts that kind of droop down from the plant.
It has a very hairy stem and the leaves, which kind of remind me of like a giant maple leaf.
Have a clasping sheath that actually comes partially around that really hairy stem.
Each of these flower clusters can get to be up to eight inches across.
These here are 4 to 5in across.
The whole plant gets to be, I don't know, maybe three feet four feet tall.
It's sometimes confused with a more toxic plant known as giant hogweed.
Giant hogweed is very toxic, but it is in fact giant getting up to 20ft or more.
So this is much shorter.
One great thing about cow parsnip it is a pollinator magnet.
Insects of all types love this plant.
And right here on these flower clusters, I can actually see a pair of mating red backed longhorn beetles longhorn because their antennae are really long.
And then over here there's a soldier beetle kind of patrolling around looking for pollen and nectar.
The seeds are almost heart shaped, and, they have little spikes on the end.
And there's a whole little section along this trail of cow parsnip.
If you're ever out and you see this showy wildflower.
Take a look up close and see how many pollinators you can spot.
Remember, you can find your own outdoor elements when you visit area parks and natural areas.
We'll see you soon.
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Outdoor Elements is a local public television program presented by PBS Michiana