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Here is a very very important thing in nature/landscape/yards, etc. There's sort of a, if not legal, ethical and moral reporting responsibility when something like this is discovered. Better safe than sorry. And the extension agent may say you're the first to report or thank you, wish there were more like you.
Here's the thing. This hogweed came from Asia -> British Isles -> Canada. Didn't stay there, though. Then it was thought it would stay in the states by Canada, and it is there but made its way down the states to other states. So that it's in NY, Michigan, Main, New Hampshire, eventually PA, Ohio, Md. And Oregon and Washington. A week or so ago it was announced it was found in Virginia. I have cousins there who told me so I looked it up surprised.
So, even though California is long with a variety of weather conditions, it could have started to enter Northern California since Canada, Oregon and Washington have Giant Hogweed. It is frustrating that this thing looks like other things and and also looks striking so somehow some people get a hold of them and bring them home and plant them. It is thought people as well as birds and wind are aiding in propagation. (Well, of course that's how they made their way from overseas too many years ago.)
So, just call you area's extension agent version. They may even have an alert to keep an eye out.
Let us know what you find out.
Last edited by petsandgardens; 06-27-2018 at 10:07 AM..
Here is a very very important thing in nature/landscape/yards, etc. There's sort of a, if not legal, ethical and moral reporting responsibility when something like this is discovered. Better safe than sorry. And the extension agent may say you're the first to report or thank you, wish there were more like you.
Here's the thing. This hogweed came from Asia -> British Isles -> Canada. Didn't stay there, though. Then it was thought it would stay in the states by Canada, and it is there but made its way down the states to other states. So that it's in NY, Michigan, Main, New Hampshire, eventually PA, Ohio, Md. And Oregon and Washington. A week or so ago it was announced it was found in Virginia. I have cousins there who told me so I looked it up surprised.
So, even though California is long with a variety of weather conditions, it could have started to enter Northern California since Canada, Oregon and Washington have Giant Hogweed. It is frustrating that this thing looks like other things and and also looks striking so somehow some people get a hold of them and bring them home and plant them. It is thought people as well as birds and wind are aiding in propagation. (Well, of course that's how they made their way from overseas too many years ago.)
So, just call you area's extension agent version. They may even have an alert to keep an eye out.
Let us know what you find out.
Good post! And good point about ethical and moral responsibilities to report suspected cases.
I just want to add here that Giant Hogweed has also now been reported in several locations in southern Alaska during the past 5 years, and recently a couple of confirmed reports have come from north west California coastal regions. So take internet reports at face value but don't count on them as they may not be entirely up to date. It is possible that the seeds have been getting spread by migrating birds along the entire west coast in recent years and sightings of it are just now starting to be reported.
Also, Cow Parsnip, which is what I suspect the OP has and has taken pictures of on his land, is much more wide spread across the whole continent including lots of places in California as well as the rest of the western states and provinces. Cow Parsnip, although smaller and less impressive looking than Giant Hogweed has just as nasty an effect on the skin as the Giant Hogweed and needs to be dealt with the same way.
Those clusters don't look big enough and there are not enough rays on those clusters for them to be giant hogweed. Giant hogweed has 50 - 150 or more rays per cluster and cow parsnip has only 15 - 30 rays per cluster. See the pictures of the numbers of rays: Giant Hogweed Identification - NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation
You have not provided adequate information about the plants you have on your land. You haven't said how tall the flower stalks are or how big across the flower clusters are, or how big the diameter of the stalks are, nor how big the mature leaves are. If you are going to contact your county office they will be asking you about all of that so you better be prepared to provide them with complete information and accurate measurements to help them give you a correct ID.
How many of the above photos are your own, and how many of those photos are from reports you saw and copied? If you are going to include other people's photos you should say so in your posts that they are not your own photos, otherwise your posts are misleading, as the picture of the hand was misleading. Is the picture of the whole plant in the very first post your own photo, or is that another one that you copied?
Good post! And good point about ethical and moral responsibilities to report suspected cases.
I just want to add here that Giant Hogweed has also now been reported in several locations in southern Alaska during the past 5 years, and recently a couple of confirmed reports have come from north west California coastal regions. So take internet reports at face value but don't count on them as they may not be entirely up to date. It is possible that the seeds have been getting spread by migrating birds along the entire west coast in recent years and sightings of it are just now starting to be reported.
Also, Cow Parsnip, which is what I suspect the OP has and has taken pictures of on his land, is much more wide spread across the whole continent including lots of places in California as well as the rest of the western states and provinces. Cow Parsnip, although smaller and less impressive looking than Giant Hogweed has just as nasty an effect on the skin as the Giant Hogweed and needs to be dealt with the same way.
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Wish I could upvote more than once ::
Giant Hogweed is a nasty customer. My sister's friend contacted it pushing through some of the plants to get to a pond, and his left lower leg is so scarred up it looks like a shark chowed down on it. The friend had no idea about the hogweed being toxic.
We have seen some plants growing here in swampy areas and by the creeks/lakes. The DEC has been pretty good about removing them so far. Some of them have been HUGE--so much for the theory that nothing will grow in our soil here
Definitely agree that there is always a duty to report invasive species
The first three pics, including the hand, are from a report I read. So those are supposedly hogweed. The rest are my pictures. The property is not where I live now, otherwise I would go take more pics right now.
The dry stalks are about 3-4 foot tall, the leaves in the live plant pic in post #6 is about 10 inches across.
I had a couple of hogweed plants in my yard and didn't know what they were till I looked them up. In my yard, however, the hogweek was constantly shaded, so it never grew. It looked like a huge and very pretty fern that died and always came back. Once I looked it up and found out what it was, my landlord had his brother glove up and yank it out.
Was reading up on cow parsnip just now... Wiki seems to describe it as an herbal with medicinal value. No mention of any danger....
ALL plants, even the most deadly toxic ones that can kill you just from smelling them, are herbals with medicinal values of one kind or another. But I think you didn't read the entire article right through. Immediately after it mentions the cow parsnip's herbal properties it goes on to discuss the dangers, I don't know how you could have missed it unless you stopped reading after you got to the herbal lore.
Just so you know, furocoumarin / furanocoumarin are the exact same chemicals in the sap that are in both giant hogweed and cow parsnip and they both cause the exact same phototoxicity.
Here is what the wiki article says for giant hogweed:
" ..... The sap of the giant hogweed plant is phototoxic; when the contacted skin is exposed to sunlight or to ultraviolet rays, it can cause phytophotodermatitis (severe skin inflammations). Initially, the skin colours red and starts itching. Blisters form as it burns within 48 hours. They form black or purplish scars that can last several years. Hospitalisation may be necessary. Although media reports have suggested that eye exposure to the sap can lead to temporary or permanent blindness, the risk of permanent blindness is not supported by existing research.
These reactions are caused by the presence of linear derivatives of furanocoumarin in its leaves, roots, stems, flowers, and seeds. These chemicals can get into the nucleus of the epithelial cells, forming a bond with the DNA, causing the cells to die. The brown colour is caused by the production of melanin triggered by furocoumarins......"
"... The stems and leaves contain furocoumarins, chemicals responsible for the characteristic rash of erythematous vesicles (burn-like blisters) and subsequent hyperpigmentation that occurs after getting the clear sap onto one's skin. The chemical is photosensitive, with the rash occurring only after exposure to ultraviolet light......"
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