Common Cowparsnip

Along with Elkweed (Frasera speciosa), another giant mountain wildflower can be found here in Arizona, the Common Cowparsnip (Heracleum maximum). Common Cowparsnips can reach 8 feet (2.4 m) tall, and their large leaves are divided into three maple-like leaflets.

Like other plants in the Carrot Family (Apiaceae), Common Cowparsnip flowers are in umbels at the top of hollow stems, but its flower umbels are unusually large, from 6 to 12 inches (15 to 30 cm) across.

The white flowers are followed by attractive, flowerlike umbels of developing green seeds.

These native perennials bloom in the summer and are quite common in and around the town of Summerhaven in the Santa Catalina Mountains near Tucson.