Blisters. Burns. Scarring. Long-term sensitivity to sunlight. Even blindness. These health hazards are the result of handling a noxious invasive plant known as Giant Hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum.)
And Giant Hogweed, which has been spreading across New York, has made its way to Riverhead. Last year, it was reported in five locations in Suffolk County, including three on the South Fork and one in Brookhaven.
The pernicious plant, native to the Caucuses Mountain area of Asia, was introduced to the United States in the early years of the 20th century as a garden ornamental. Now it grows wild along roadsides, streams, rivers, fields – basically open sites with lots of sunlight. Our rural landscape is the perfect host, so the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation is warning people to be on the lookout for it after it has been confirmed growing locally.
Giant Hogweed lives up to the “giant” in its name: it grows up to 15 feet tall on hollow stems four to five inches in diameter. White lacy umbrella-shaped flowers spread two feet across the top of the plant. Its leaves are deeply lobed and can be as large as five feet in diameter. Its very size is often what attracts people to it – inadvertently putting themselves in harm’s way by picking it, or even transplanting it to their own yards.
If you see a plant that you suspect may be Giant Hogweed, the DEC warns: Do not touch it. Use the DEC’s Giant Hogweed identification web page to help you decide if you’ve got the real deal or any of several plants which resemble it. Then, staying a safe distance away, photograph all parts of the plant. Email the photos, detailed directions to the plant infestation and an estimate of how many plants there are at that location to the DEC, or call the Giant Hogweed Hotline at 1-845-256-3111. The DEC will follow up with the landowner if it confirms that the suspected plant is Giant Hogweed.
Contact with the sap of the plant, in combination with water (sweat or dew will suffice) and sunlight, causes the skin and eye irritations. Should you have the misfortune to come in contact with the plant’s sap, even by brushing up against its bristly stems, or touching any part of the plant including its flowers and seeds, wash immediately with soap and COLD water. Keep the affected area out of the sun for 48 hours. Click here to see photos of the blistering the sap can cause and recommendations for avoiding contact with it.
The DEC advises against trying to eradicate the plant without professional help. Even gloves, long-sleeved shirts, long pants and goggles are not always effective preventatives as the bristles and sap can penetrate clothing or spread to skin by touching the sap on gloves and goggles to bare skin later. The DEC strongly cautions against using cutting tools like string trimmers or mowers because the sap from hacked off plants can fly three to four feet through the air.
The DEC is asking the public’s help in spreading the word about Giant Hogweed by printing the Giant Hogweed poster or Giant Hogweed brochure and displaying them in public places like libraries, schools, post offices, community gardens or other municipal spots.
