GIANT HOGWEED—BY JULIO

Here’s something we need to know about and pass on to other people because it is a potential health threat.

The sap of this plant can cause painful, burning blisters in some people. And these blisters can later scar.

It was a popular specimen plant during Victorian times because of its impressive height and flower size. However, it has become an invasive, difficult plant to eradicate over time. It prefers a rich, damp soil and is frequently found growing along stream banks, in roadside ditches and other moist waste areas (sound familiar? As in Purple Loosestrife, maybe. Except Loosestrife doesn’t burn you!)

Giant Hogweed can reach 6 to 14 feet and is probably the tallest herbaceous plant found in New York State. Its stems range from 2 to 4 inches in diameter and its compound leaves reach a span of 5 feet.

It has wide, flat-topped clusters of small white flowers that measure up to 2-1/2 feet across. And these beautiful flowers resemble huge umbels of Queen Anne’s Lace. The stalks are blotched with deep purple and the flower stems are ribbed. This monster plant is hairy all over, but the hairs at the base of the leaf stalk are particularly prominent.

Giant Hogweed is a member of the carrot and parsley family that flowers from mid-June to mid-July. After flowering, green fruits appear that quickly turn brown and dry. They are then dispersed by wind or carried away by running water. During the winter months hogweed takes on a skeleton-like appearance with the now dead flower heads attached to the huge stalks.
Giant Hogweed is often mistaken for two native plants that grow in the upstate New York area. They are cow parsnip, Heracleum lanatum, and purple-stemmed angelica Angelica atropurpurea). The difference being that cow parsnip is only around 6 feet tall and angelica is shorter than hogweed, rarely attaining 8 feet in height. Exposure to hogweed sap can cause blisters. Skin irritation appears several days after exposure to plant juices.

The best protection is to wear disposable rubber gloves and long sleeves when dealing with this plant. Also, the chemical glyphosate (Roundup) is effective in controlling hogweed and should be applied when the plant is actively growing during the summer months. Roundup is a non-selective herbicide and will kill any surrounding vegetation that it comes into contact with.
And why are we telling you about a plant that is found in upstate New York?

Well, that’s because it is now found here in our area!
Information from Cornell Cooperative Ext of Broome County