GIANT HOGWEED Heracleum mantegazzianum SOMMIER & LEVIER A NEW NONINDIGENOUS SPECIES IN THE FLORA OF BOSNIA AND HERCEGOVINA

A Semir Maslo Lundkerskola Gislaved Sweden E.mail: semmas@edu.gislaved.se Abstract This finding of the Asian species Heracleum mantegazzianum Sommier & Levier in Hadii near Sarajevo, presents its first record in the flora of Bosnia and Hercegovina and it is probably the most southern record in Europe. Giant Hogweed is a perennial flowering plant in the carrot family (Apiaceae). This is a very dangerous weed, introduced from its native range in Caucasus to European gardens as an ornamental species during the 19th century. The species current range includes parts of Europe N of the Alps and parts of North America. It competes with native species for light, and can change the composition and reduce the diversity of native plant communities. The plant has a strong resinous smell and can cause dermatitis when it is handled in bright sunlight. Giant Hogweed is on the list of 100 of the most invasive alien species in Europe.
Keywords; invasive species, morphology, distribution, health hazards, control methods.

Introduction Giant Hogweed was introduced as an ornamental at least in Europa and North America, now regarded as a pest in N and C Europe (Frberg 2010). The first record from the area of secondary distribution relates to Great Britain in 1817 (Nentwig et al. 2008). In 1828, the first natural population was recorded, growing wild in Cambridgeshire, England (Nielsen et al., 2005). Soon after, the plant began to spread rapidly across Europe. It has been reported as established in Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia (native), Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia (Southern Russia) (native), Slovakia, Sweden and Switzerland (Brummitt 1968; Nielsen et al. 2005). Outside Europe this species can be found in Canada and the United States where it is known as giant cow parsnip (Tiley 1996). In the area of the former Yugoslavia Giant Hogweed was found in Slovenia, escaped from Ljubljana Botanical Gardens (Martini et al. 1999). It was even recently found in NW Croatia near abnik in Meimurje area (Stunkovi 2010). In the literature available to me, this plant was not known in the flora of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and may be now considered a new member of it. Even Beck (Beck 1927) did not mention it in the flora of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Material and methods In identification of H. mantegazzianum the following sources were used: Flora Europaea Vol.2 (Tutin et al., 1968), Flora Nordica Vol.6 (Jonsell B. & Karlsson T., 2010), Nordiske skrmplanter (Faurholdt, N. & Schou, J.C. 2004), The Giant Hogweed best practice manual (Nielsen et al., 2005), Heracleum montegazzianum Sommier & Levier (Tiley et al., 1996), Umbellifers of the British Isles (Tutin TG. 1980)

Herbarium samples are stored in the herbarium of the National Museum of B & H (SARA).

Fig.1 Heracleum mantegazzianum SOMMIER & LEVIER drawing from the book Nordiske skrmplanter, by Jens Christian Schou with permission of author. 2

Results and discussion The first record of Giant Hogweed H. mantegazzianum Sommier & Levier at the territory of Bosnia and Hercegovina is reported for the town Hadii south west of Sarajevo. Giant Hogweed is one of the most aggressive invasive plant species in Europe and North America. It has spread rapidly in many European countries after introduction as an ornamental plant from its native area in Caucasus. The main mechanism of introduction into Europe, accounting for first records in most of western and northern Europe, was as ornamental curiosity (Nielsen et al., 2005). In regions where it has recently been introduced, it occurs mainly in riparian areas and near human habitations.

Fig.2 Dense stand of Giant Hogweed near the southern entrance to Hadii.

H. mantegazzianum Sommier & Levier (Fig. 1) is monocarpic perennial, which persist usually 3-5 years in rosette stage. After reaching the mature stage it flowers and dies. The flowering steam single, annual, hollow, up to 10 cm thick at base can be up to 5 m high. Leaves alternate, lower up to 300 cm, ternately or pinnately lobed and coarsely toothed (Fig 2). Flowers white, in compound umbels up to 80 cm in diameter with about 100 unequal hairy rays. The terminal umbel is largest and hermaphrodite, surrounded by up to eight satellite umbels on elongated curving stalks raising them up to 40 cm above the level of the terminal umbel. Fruit elliptical 15 mm long and 5-10 mm wide, narrowly winged, usually glabrous to villous, dorsally much compressed (Fig 4). The fruit consists of two winged mericarps, each containing one seed. The species reproduces only by seeds, which are dispersed by wind, water and humans. A single plant produces 5000 to more than 100.000 seeds (Tiley et al., 1996).

Fig. 3 Heracleum mantegazzianum SOMMIER & LEVIER Habit

Giant Hogweed is generally an early colonizer of open ruderal communities, disturbed habitats, or bare ground. It is most invasive in regions with cool, moist climates that are similar to its native habitat. Population near Hadii grows in mixed community with herbs and grasses between railway Sarajevo Mostar and the main road M 17 (Fig. 2). There were about 20 plants in flower at my visit in late July 2010. Given that the flowers develop after three to five years population must be in place at least since 2007.

The terminal umbel

Leaf

Umbellule with fruits

Fruit

Fig. 4 Details Giant Hogweed is the largest herbaceous plant in the European flora and is a highly competitive species owning to its rapid and prolific growth (Pyek et al., 2007). The species often develops large and dominant stands and replaces the native vegetation. Besides the ecological problems, plants also represent a serious health hazard for humans. The plant produces a sickly yellow sap that contains toxins causing severe dermatitis. Contact with the eyes can cause temporary and possibly permanent blindness. However, the health hazards of the species via serious dermatological effects on skin contact are the main reasons for concern over its spread. Although conspicuous and attractive, H. mantegazzianum is now considered a noxious weed (Tiley et al., 1996), and management consist largely of measures to control it. Current control methods are grazing, mechanical cutting or other damage and chemical treatment.

Acknowledgement
Author would like to thank Jens Christian Schou from Denmark for his permission of the use of the species' drawings.

Literature
Beck, G. (1927): Flora Bosne i Hercegovine i oblasti Novog Pazara. Srpska akademija nauka, Beograd. Brummitt, R.K. (1968): Heracleum L. In Tutin, T. G., Heywood, V.H., Burges, N. A., Moore, D. M. and Valentine, D. H. (eds) Flora Europaea. Vol. 2. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 364-366. Faurholdt, N. & Schou, J.C. (2004): Nordiske skrmplanter. Dansk Botanisk Forenings Forlag, Copenhagen, 166 pp./In Danish: Nordic Umbelliferous Plants. Frberg, L. (2010): Heracleum L. In Jonsell B. & Karlsson T. (eds) Flora Nordica. Vol. 6. Stockholm. Martini, A., Wraber, T., Jogan, N., Ravnik, V., Podobnik, A., Turk, B., Vre, B. (1999): Mala flora Slovenije, Ljubljana: Tehnika zaloba Slovenije. Nentwig W., Hulme P. E., Pyek P. & Vil M. (eds) (2008) DAISIE: The handbook of alien species in Europe. Springer, Berlin. Nielsen Ch, Ravn HP, Nentwig W, Wade M (eds) (2005): The Giant Hogweed best practice manual. Guidelines for the management and control of an invasive weed in Europe. Forest and Landscape, Hoersholm, Denmark. Pyek, P., Cock, M.J.W. & Ravn, H.P. (2007): Ecology and management of Giant Hogweed. Oxfordshire. Stunkovi, H. (2010).:Heracleum mantegazzianum Sommier & Levier. U: Nikoli, T. (ur.): Flora Croatica baza podataka. On-Line http://hirc.botanic.hr/fcd. Botaniki zavod, Prirodoslovno-matematiki fakultet, Sveuilite u Zagrebu. Tiley, GED, Dodd FS, Wade PM (1996) Heracleum montegazzianum Sommier & Levier. Journal of Ecology 84:pp. 297-319. Tutin TG. (1980) Umbellifers of the British Isles. Handbook Number 2. London: Botanical Society of the British Isles.

Fig.1 Heracleum mantegazzianum SOMMIER & LEVIER drawing from the book Nordiske skrmplanter, by Jens Christian Schou with permission of author. Fig.2 Dense stand of Giant Hogweed near the southern entrance to Hadii. Fig.3 Heracleum mantegazzianum SOMMIER & LEVIER Habit Fig.4 Details