There are no confirmed cases of giant hogweed in the MD of Foothills, despite a recent rash of reports of the invasive and potentially harmful plant received by the MD of Foothills.
“To our knowledge, not at this point in time,” said Jeff Porter, MD agricultural fieldman. “One hundred per cent of our supposed sightings of giant hogweed to date have been cow parsnip.”
He said the two plants look similar and there are other plants that look like giant hogweed at smaller stages. Giant hogweed has taken root in several provinces. The plant is a concern because its sap can cause significant burns and blistering.
Porter said he recently received five calls in one week from people reporting giant hogweed. He said most phone calls come from residential and acreage properties. Much of the concern has been driven by newspaper and television news stories, he said.
There are legitimate concerns about the plant, Porter said, and it’s important it doesn’t get a foothold in Alberta.
While he appreciates the concern from people who report seeing the plant in the MD, Porter said it takes a lot of time to inspect each report.
He said people who have questions about a suspicious plant on their property can compare photos of the suspicious plant with photos online or contact him to email the pictures for review. Porter said they need pictures of the stem, the leaf and the flower or seed head, as well as a general description of the area where it was found.
“We can have a look at it and if we are still uncertain, then we would come out to their property,” he said.
Provincial officials say there have not been any confirmed cases of giant hogweed in Alberta, but they are vigilantly watching for it.
“It is in B.C. and it has a pretty good establishment there, so we are on a high alert,” said Nicole Kimmel, Alberta Agriculture weed specialist.
“We are concerned because it does have human impacts, as well as its weedy nature.”
She said giant hogweed has the highest provincial rating as a prohibited, noxious weed, meaning there are legal requirements to eradicate it wherever it may occur.
Kimmel said the plant’s sap can cause significant burns.
“If you get the sap on you it causes you to become highly sensitive to UV radiation, so if you go out into the sun and you get the sap on you, you’ll blister where you got the sap on your skin,” she said.
This light sensitivity can last for up to 10 years, she said.
She said giant hogweed and cow parsnip look very similar and are from the same family of plants.
Giant hogweed is taller, it can grow as high as 15 feet compared to six to eight feet for cow parsnip. She said the flowers on giant hogweed can be as wide as a meter, compared to 30 cm for cow parsnip.
“There’s drastic size difference,” she said.
Giant hogweed also has purple spots along the stem, while cow parsnip has few stems. Giant hogweed leaves are also pointier, she said.
