Giant Hogweed

[IDratherbehiking]

Oh man! Saw this story over at KATU. Has anybody here ever been burned by this? http://www.katu.com/news/local/160594225.html

[bobcat]

I live right near Vermont Creek and have seen it there. I haven't touched it and the parks staff pull it when they see it. Hikers shouldn't have to worry about it. It's an invasive species and makes its home in moist areas in population centers.

[payslee]

I'm trying to figure out how this would make you blind unless you put it through a juicer and used it for eyedrops

I've spent plenty of days pulling hogweed from a big natural area near Clackamas Town center. We just used regular weeding gloves and had no issues... whatever toxins these guys have seem to be a lot less volatile than say, poison oak, which I react to even in the dead of winter, no matter how quickly I wash it.

Plants have an amazing chemical arsenal. We are surrounded by far more posions that most of us realize!

-payslee

[romann]

When I lived in Europe, we regularly saw those plants - or something very similar. Me and my brother would use dry stalks of it to play sword fights (we knew it's poisonous but if you don't eat it that shouldn't be a danger). This was common but not invasive; I guess here it may be a different story.

[raftingdog]

suffered several quarter size blisters on arm after casual contact while hiking on trail in Olympic National Park.....this giant hogweed is spreading thru out Columbia Gorge at low elev...few people seem to know about the threat .....