From Good Housekeeping

What's 14 feet tall, green, hairy, and covered in toxic sap? It may sound like a monster, but this scary beast is actually giant hogweed, a towering, invasive plant whose sap can cause painful burns, scarring, and possibly even blindness.

Originally from the the Caucasus mountain region of Eurasia, researchers just confirmed the presence of this federally listed "noxious weed" in Virginia for the first time. The state now joins Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Michigan, Illinois, Washington, and Oregon as hosts to this non-native plant.

Naturalists intentionally brought the species here in the early 1900s, as its size and enormous flowers made it desirable for ornamental planting. However, the average giant hogweed produces a whopping 20,000 seeds that can fall 30 feet from the plant and travel even farther through wind or water. Translation: It didn't take long for this species to spread out of control - and start injuring unsuspecting gardeners.

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Why Giant Hogweed Is Dangerous

The danger of giant hogweed stems from its sap, which is present on all parts of the plant. Toxic chemicals in it called furanocoumarins cause severe burns when exposed to UV light from the sun. Even when the painful blisters subside, permanent scarring can remain.

"The more sap you touch, the greater damage it causes," Naja Kraus, the New York Department of Environmental Conservation's Giant Hogweed Program Coordinator, tells GoodHousekeeping.com. "Once you get it on you, it makes your skin unable to protect itself from the sun."





The reaction - called phytophotodermatitis - is similar to how some antibiotics you take make your skin more sensitive to UV light. "It basically fuses your DNA in that area," Kraus explains.

One 17-year-old boy recently went to the hospital with second- and third-degree burns after he accidentally chopped down a giant hogweed plant as part of his summer landscaping job. Alex Childress of Spotsylvania County, Virginia, didn't notice anything unusual until he went to take a shower that evening.

"I started rubbing my face," he told People. "I thought it was just a little bit of skin at first, but then big chunks of my face were falling off." Childress stayed in the Virginia Commonwealth University's burn center for two days, and now must avoid the sun for up to six months.



While other news reports warn of blindness as another side effect, Kraus says she hasn't encountered a verified case in her 11 years with the Giant Hogweed Program, but their hotline has received more than enough calls reporting the painful burns.

How to Identify Giant Hogweed

If you encounter a plant that resembles giant hogweed in your backyard, the first step is to verify it. Giant hogweed doesn't grow to 14 feet overnight; the seedlings and saplings start out much smaller. It's only after three to five years - when the plant gains enough energy from its roots - that it rockets in growth and begins to produce early-summer white flowers one to two feet across, as well as five-foot-wide lobed, jagged leaves.



Anything with smaller blooms (like Queen Anne's lace) is probably an imposter. Two other similar looking species include the very benign native plant cow parsnip, which only grows to about six feet, and Angelica, which has compound leaves and smooth stems.

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