httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SF9wBB40vrA
Friday Night Evening meeting at Lindystock. Victoria Feistner and Gillian Street explain the dangers of Giant Hogweed — a weed much more deadly than poison ivy. Watch out campers!
Taken from the Ontario Goverment’s Ministry of Agriculture Food and Rural Affairs:
General Description: Biennial or perennial, flowering only once in its lifetime and reproducing only by seed. Plants forming rosettes to 1m (40in.) high the first year; in the second year, either sending up a flowering stem, or remaining vegetative and producing a very large rosette of huge leaves, these including their petioles, up to 2m (80in.) high, and flowering in the third year.
A helpful warning and more information is provided here
DO NOT TOUCH THIS PLANT. The plant exudes a clear watery sap, which sensitizes the skin to ultraviolet radiation. This can result in severe burns to the affected areas resulting in severe blistering and painful dermatitis. These blisters can develop into purplish or blackened scars. Proliferating populations in urban and suburban areas represents an increasing public health hazard.
