Giant Hogweed / Wild Parsnip Educational Video
This video was produced by WorkSafeBC. Although the video references Giant Hogweed, many of the safety precautions and steps to remove the weed can be applied to Wild Parsnip, which has similar toxic qualities and has appeared in greater numbers recently in Loyalist Township.
Learn to spot Giant Hogweed and Wild Parsnip:
| Giant
Hogweed |
Wild
Parsnip |
 |
 |
Image Source: Iowa
State U. |
Image Source: Iowa
State U. |
| Giant Hogweed (Heracleum mantegassianum) Plant form: Tall plants usually 2 - 5m in height. It's been described as a wild carrot on steroids. Life cycle: Biennial or perennial, flowering only once in its lifetime and reproducing only by seed. Appearance: Rosettes up to 1 m tall grow the first year, and in the 2nd year, either grow a larger rosette (up to 2m), or produce a flower stalk up to 5 m tall, with a hollow reddish- urple stem up to 10 cm in diameter. Flowers from June to September, with a compound umbel up to 1.2 m across, with 30 to 50 branches, each with an umbel with 30-20 flowers. Caution: Giant hogweed contains furocoumarins (psoralens), which make human skin hypersensitive to sunlight, causing cellular damage at the surface. They absorb long-wave ultraviolet light and become photodynamic. Pets can also carry the oils on their fur. May be confused with: Angelica - also tall growing (2.5m) with thick purple stems and compound umbels - or - spotted water hemlock, also tall growing (2m) with hollow stems and large umbels, but more slender leaves (and a very poisonous plant) - but giant hogweed is much larger than either of these plants. Text source: Ontario Ministry of Agriculture |
Wild parsnip
(Pastinaca sativa)
Another member of the Carrot family, this wild plant is very similar to cultivated parsnip, and may have actually escaped from fields. Wild parsnip occurs throughout Ontario on roadsides, meadows, fencerows and abandoned fields. Plant form: Medium plants usually 0.5 to 1.5m in height. The whole plant has a distinctive parsnip odour. Life cycle: Biennial, reproducing only by seed. Seedling rosettes have ovate leaves on long stems, but change to compound leaves with broad leaflets. The flower stems bolt from May to late autumn. Appearance: A highly branched plant, with hollow green stems. The compound leaves, similar to parsnip, are green & dense growing. The yellow flowers are held high above the leaves, clustered in compound umbels up to 20 cm across. Caution: Similar to giant hogweed, wild parsnip also contains furocoumarins which can cause severe skin dermatitis, when activated by sunlight. Surprisingly, the root of this plant is edible, but large quantities should be avoided - and be cautious about the peelings! May be confused with: Other members of the Carrot family,
like cow-parsnip (which has white flowers in umbels, but large broad
leaflets, not pinnate like wild parsnip - and which is not poisonous),
or poison hemlock (which has finely divided leaves, and small compact
umbels - and is highly poisonous). Look for pinnate leaves, yellow
flowers and distinctive odour in wild parsnip. |
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