Hello, hogweed - Jul. 15, 2010
Barb Rayner/Courier
Tom Moffatt is dwarfed by the tall stand of giant hogweed growing alongside Route 127 in Bocabec.
By BARB RAYNER
barbrayn@nbnet.nb.ca
BOCABEC – A nasty plant gaining national headlines has sprouted in Charlotte County as well.
Giant hogweed is growing in the local area and coming into contact with the sap followed by exposure to sunlight can produce painful, burning blisters or, if it gets in the eyes, even blindness.
The plant, which has been in the headlines lately as it shows up in different parts of Canada, is a member of the carrot or parsley family that was introduced into Europe and North America in the early 1900s. Patches of it can be spotted growing alongside Route 127 as well as on Holt’s Point Road and possibly along Ledge Road near St. Stephen.
Its massive size – it can grow up to 3.5 metres tall – and imposing appearance made it desirable for gardens but giant hogweed has now escaped from cultivation and can be found in rich, moist soils along roadside ditches, stream banks, waste ground, along tree lines and around wooden areas. The flowers can produce 50,000 seeds each year.
Contact with the toxic sap from a broken stem or crushed leaf, root, flower or seed usually happens when people cut down hogweed plants without taking precautions.
The sap has the potential to cause severe skin irritation in susceptible people. Irritation is not immediate but within 24 hours, burn-like lesions can form, followed by the formation of large, fluid-filled blisters within 48 hours.
It can also produce painless red blotches that later develop into purplish or brown scars that may persist for several years. On rare occasions, the burns and blisters require hospital treatment. Even a minute amount of the sap can cause blindness.
In order to have an adverse reaction, the skin must be moist (such as from perspiration) and then exposed to sunlight. Anyone coming into contact with the sap should immediately wash the skin with soap and water to prevent any reaction with subsequent exposure to sunlight.
After looking at a group of the plants Tom Moffatt, who has worked as a naturalist with the Canadian Wildlife Services, confirmed they were giant hogweed and not cow parsley or angelica as they are often mistaken for.
He said they have all the characteristics of giant hogweed with flat topped umbels (which can measure over two feet) and hollow stems with purple blotches and coarse white hairs.
“The UN conservation agency, the IUCN, has said that invasive species are the third greatest threat to biodiversity on the planet, following climate change and habitat loss,” he said.
“Whether it is an Asian plant like giant hogweed starting as an ornamental planting then spreading to become a toxic nuisance, or a fish brought in that changes the living balance in a stream, it places every species at risk.
“Giant hogweed is native to the western Caucasus mountains and should not be living wild anywhere in New Brunswick.”
Giant hogweed has been a federal noxious weed in the U.S. since 1998 making it unlawful to propagate, sell or transport the plant into the country. Since 2001 the U.S. and Maine Departments of Agriculture have been surveying for this weed.
Mike Best, who lives near the patch of hogweed on Route 127, said he has noticed that they have spread considerably and, now that he knows what they are, he will be more careful around them.
He said that at the first sign of them in his garden he tries to get rid of them but there are a lot of people who stop and pick up seeds and he knows people who have planted them in their gardens.
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