Giant Hogweed

Week 13
Year 2016
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Image Credit: "Giant hogweed (close-up)" by Farbenfreude © CC BY-SA 3.0

Avoid the sun like a vampire if you accidentally touch the Giant Hogweed. Hogs and cows may be immune, but humans beware: contact with this nasty plant's sap, along with a dose of sun, may result in purple or black scars, and even blindness.[1][2] With heights up to 20 feet tall this perennial is rightly named a giant. Oddly related to the carrot family, each plant produces approximately 100,000 seeds, a contributing factor on why large colonies of the plant can quickly pop up.[3]

Do you know any fun facts or tips?

Citations

[1]: "Giant Hogweed." Noxious Weed Control Board (NWCB). 1991. Accessed April 04, 2016. http://www.nwcb.wa.gov/detail.asp?weed=62.

[2]: "Giant Hogweed." New York State - Department of Health. Accessed April 04, 2016. https://www.health.ny.gov/environmental/outdoors/hogweed/giant_hogweed.htm

[3]: "Invasive Plants in Pennsylvania - Giant Hogweed." Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Accessed April 4, 2016. http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/cs/groups/public/documents/document/dcnr_010273.pdf.