K wrote:
In various languages:~)
Heracleum sphondylium - Berenklauw | Berce commune | Hogweed |
Wiesen-Bärenklau
nearly :-)
H. mantegazzianum or giant hogweed
Be careful as it can cause skin irritation
And will take over yer riverbank. It is huge and invasive.
here is what is said on a belgian site:
Reuzenbereklauw, Heracleum mantegazzianum: een gevaarlijke plant!
which means keep the livestock and women indoors.
Interesting - very different leaf from the other hogweed, isn't it? Much
shinier.

Thank you everyone. You're just brilliant! Not sure if we should keep
it there - it is quite likely it will decide to stay there even if
we're trying to get rid of it. Beautiful stem indeed, but might not be
what the landscape designer have in mind. I'll perhaps dig one out,
carefully mind, and see what it does in a pot. Strange stems for a
hogweed though ...