Photo: GerardM at nl.wikipedia

Be on the lookout. Poison plants have been around longer than humans and they persist. Now we have a new dangerous plant that threatens to invade our area with dangerous health consequences. Here’s the scary thing: Experts tell us to not only avoid contact but to avoid removing it ourselves! They say it’s best to contact authorities and have them remove it. It’s called the “Giant Hogweed” (Heracleum mantegazzianum) and it does get big with big, white flowers. Sap from the plant can burn the skin and blind your eyes. Not fun! Fairfax County believes this plant is so dangerous their website says, “THIS SPECIES IS TOXIC AND SHOULD NOT BE TOUCHED.” That’s just plain scary. Click here to read details on the Fairfax County website (scroll-down a bit to find the ‘hogweed’ section) then click this for more details from USNews.com and then click here to learn more at Wikipedia.

Here are a few links that reveal more information about this new threat and the old stand-by poison plants:

“Outsmarting Poison Ivy and Other Poisonous Plants” at FDA.gov

This entry was posted on Sunday, July 10th, 2011 at 11:23 am and is filed under Health, Safety. Both comments and pings are currently closed.