FORGET stinging nettles and thorn bushes, there’s a much larger plant you want to be weary of. Giant hogweed can cause severe blisters, burns and long-lasting scars if touched - and even blindness. It is a large and invasive plant that can grow up to 14 feet tall with large, deeply lobed leaves that can measure up to five feet wide.
You’ll often find giant hogweed - distinctive by its umbrella-shaped clusters of white flowers - along riverbanks , roadsides and wastelands. It thrives in damp, nutrient-rich soils and can be particularly problematic in areas where the soil has been disturbed. “Its dense foliage prevents light from reaching the soil underneath, killing off native plants and leading to rapid soil erosion,” Keith Gallacher, director of Complete Weed Control, says.
Experts have warned of record invasion of Giant Hogweed this year as the mild and wet weather helped it boom earlier than ever. Dubbed UK’s "most dangerous" plant , it has a toxic sap that can cause highly painful burns and blisters within 48 hours of exposure. These burns can leave victims hospitalised and with permanent scars.
The sap of giant hogweed contains furanocoumarins, which sparks severe skin reactions when exposed to sunlight. It’s also the sap that causes blindness. Chemicals in the sap react with UV light from the sun, causing a phototoxic reaction of intense inflammation and damage to the cornea and other tissues in the eye.
The reaction can lead to chemical burns and blistering.
