Giant Hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum) has phototoxic sap that can cause severe blisters. It’s an invasive plant in the UK, found along rivers, damp fields and woodlands or roadsides. Don’t touch!
WATCH NEXT-
Common hogweed identificaion- https://youtu.be/5eDOcU0SlKI?si=bljgDnkCBSROEaBV
Poisonous berries- https://youtu.be/JM8TznqyXcg?si=Y5uyfscuHjwwF-Yx
00:00 Giant Hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum) habitats and warnings
01:45 Giant Hogweed Identification
41 Comments
There's loads just behind my house. There's huge ones by the railway track. It looks like some close to the paths have been chopped.
They are amazing looking plants to tell you the truth. And a bit menacing.
I've just repotwo locations in Leeds
Make sure you dont burn it as the smoke is also toxic
There’s loads of it in N Yorks
This plant is also harmful to dogs, too. I've recently seen it on a few of my walks, but keeping my dog under strict control. Still a nicely informed and detailed video!
They are everywhere here in Glasgow, thanks for the info.
I used to strim the motorway embankments around London. I once got splashed by a bit of the sap and got a blister on my wrist I kept it covered up and after a few weeks it was fine. I was worried that the next summer the blister would return but I got lucky on that.
I get bad blisters from common hogweed sap so I dread to think how bad giant hogweed would be, luckily not found any near me. Apparently parsnip plants can also make skin more sensitive to sunlight.
S.W England around 1980 I was out hacking in a remote damp and wooded valley when I came upon a large patch of this, it was in full flower, heads around 2'6" across, stood at least 16 feet high, the stems were like tree trunks. I had no idea what it was other than a wild Parsley type thing! I was so impressed by it that I later returned with a vehicle and a saw, I cut around ten down, dragged them through the woods to my car and tied them onto the roof. I attached string and hauled them up to the lofty rafters in my flat above the stables where I worked, they looked spectacular! They dried and became quite a talking point over then next few years, nobody had seen them before. After this I found out what the plant was. The funny thing is that despite touching the plant and only wearing a tee shirt I never had a reaction.
Thanks… I will definitely keep my eyes peeled…. knew of it , but not the details…
Another illegal immigrant
We get loads of it
i got this on my arms as a kid i still get the blisters 50 years later i need medical cream all the time for it i use betnovate to treat it
There are sections of riverbanks in Aberdeenshire that are totally inaccessible due to hogweed infestation.
Great informational video. Need one on vampire horseflies too which are becoming more and more widespread in the UK, now needing hospital treatment.
Berenklauw or Hogweed is toxic.
And they are also often found near motor ways.
In fact: in the Netherlands almost every motor way has a patch somewhere with these plants.
Oh damn, I told the new natives it was a staple in our diet. Oops.
I can attest to its potency increasing with sunlight, heat and sweat!
I walked through a field of it on the hottest day of the year last year, and about two hours later, whilst drinking beer in a friends garden, I was covered in lumps, scratches ans raw skin.
It was very uncomfortable and most of it lasted days, some of the marks lasted weeks and looked like a fresh graze from the thorn of a branble.
Thankfully the large quantity of alcohol we consumed that day made the pain far more bareable.
I have walked through fields of this stuff on numerous occasions without memorable issues, but that day itnwas highly noticeable and truly unpleasant.
Thank you very much for the vid'.
Cattle are unaffected by it: one of the most effective ways to control is to allow cattle to graze right down to the waters edge, as they will completely remove it. Unfortunately Natural England don't like allowing cattle to do this, but it was used as a control in several catchment areas of the River Tweed.
Does this type of plant grow in the USA?
It does look very similar to other plants like wild cow parsnip so good video thanks
There is a problem with people and council misidentifying the Native Hogweed with giant Hogweed. I had a job stopping a council spraying my Native Hogweed with weedkiller where it was growing with some young Willow cuttings. I was deliberately growing and spreading my Native Hogweed to give to our horses as a treat as they love it.
I deal with this as part of my job as an invasive weed specialist.
It's a losing battle.
Fucking moron thought it'd be a good idea to bring this back from russia!? Its far from pretty. It stinks. It only attracts the nastiest insects. That shit just screams "stay away".
We used to call these plants scabby eyes when we were kids , my parents called them that I’m from West Cumbria and it was to stop us from picking them or touching them, did anyone else call them different names from other parts of the country.
How do you tell it apart from cow parsley
Genesis warned me about this plant
Rubbed my elbow up against this when I was a kid, every year I have a couple of weeks with a sore itchy patch on my arm.
another vampire myth, explainable!
My understanding is that skin damage from the sap is potentially permanent.
This is a very dangerous plant – I hope that kids are being taught about it. I will make sure that my grandchildren are told about it. Americans get taught about poison ivy from a young age – this stuff is miles worse.
Is this what they call " dead mans foulrish"?
Over the years I've seen several spots where this grows in Stroud. It's a shame that it's so damaging to humans as, a fully grown specimen in flower is a magnificent sight! Flower heads the size of a umbrella. Definitely a look and don't touch plant though.
Another destructive immigrant species.
This is bizarre as I grew up with this stuff and use to pick it and keep the flowers and it never did me any harm….ever.
I cycled past one recently that was marauding alongside the road just waiting for a cyclist to brush past. I had to stop and take a photo to send to my Genesis fan pal.
I'm old enough to remember when the Sunday newspapers used to carry adverts for gardeners to buy 'cartwheel flowers', with pictures of happy children playing beneath them!
The plants doing all they can to fight back the humans
It's everywhere in the cotswold literally. Along side roads.
I cleared a piece of land I bought next to my house with a brush cutter had a visor on but only a tee shirt.The inside of my arms blistered up bad.It was about 18 months before the blotches disappeared.I googled the weed then found out it was toxic
This plant really messed me up when I was a kid. Got the sap all over my face, legs and arms. Still have a scar on my right leg 20 years later.
they’re all over the place in Ireland
I want to have a swampy mote around my land, the mote should have dikes in it, filled with giant hogweed. I wish I had that, not a single criminal would ever have the balls to break in. Imagine rows and rows of these giant plants and a wall closest to the house covered in rusty spikes and barbed wire.