Giant Hogweed

This nasty plant just made news here. I'm just reading up n it now. It causes blisters and even blindness. PSA if you google it prepare to be creeped out by picts of folks exposed.

I now wonder if I may have touched some. I got a small blister on my hand that looks an awful lot like the picts I saw on the net. Three weeks have passed and it's not totally healed. Also, a nasty scar. Luckily it's very small less than 1/2" diameter.

Are you in Michigan?

Never heard of this plant before, but it looks like a giant Queen Anne's Lace plant.

Yes. Kalamazoo, MI. The giant hogweed was found near Battle Creek. Also, yes it looks like a giant mutant queen Ann's lace.

Considering what I now know about it seems unlikely that I've been exposed.... It seems very uncommon. That being said; I spend a lot of time outdoors in the summer and my blister and scar look just like what I have been reading about.

Ahh. I grew up near Grand Rapids.

Bad news plant! Use caution when hiking

Thanks for the warning. That was considerate.

Please post where you live at the right.

It is NO joke! I live in Massachusetts and it has made the local news recently. On doing a youtube search I found similar news broadcasts from New York, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Indiana, Vermont, Maine, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia etc. It is found in localized pockets but over a very wide area. Burns are similar to third degree burns which may reappear for up to 7 years when exposed to light.

An individual exposed to it described his exposure to being many times more severe than his exposure to poison ivy and skin graft may be necessary in some cases.

You may want to consider keeping your dog on a leash when walking in the woods. I saw a dog that had been exposed that was pretty serious.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcppTUiAlcE

For those in Massachusetts. Government listing of known sightings and status.

http://www.massnrc.org/pests/pestFAQsheets/hogweed/giant_hogweed.htm

Thankfully I haven't seen any while hiking western Maine or NH.