It seems these days, killer-plant movies aren’t really in vogue, but in the past, those sometimes-ridiculous
films were all the rage.
Think of ‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers?’
or ‘Swamp Thing?’
And who could forget ‘Attack of the Killer Tomatoes’ and the classic, ‘Little Shop
of Horrors.’
While plants certainly don’t invade neighborhoods and gorge themselves on American families,
some plants are indeed deadly.
One is called Deadly Nightshade, and its delicious-looking berries, a plant that contains atropine and
scopolamine, which, if ingested, can leave you hallucinating, delirious, paralyzed, and
finally dead.
Eat a handful of Castor Beans or drink the milk from a cow that’s eaten some White
Snakeroot, and you could also end up dead, just as Abraham Lincoln’s mother did.
Yep, true story.
But today, we’ll look at something you shouldn’t even go near, in this episode of the Infographics
Show, This Plant Will Cause You 2nd Degree Burns.
The plant in question, the Giant Hogweed, has lately been making headlines in both the
British and American media.
Apparently, because of the heatwave in the UK, it’s been spreading and causing havoc,
and in the U.S., there have been many reports about authorities trying to stem the growth
of the toxic weed.
The plant comes from Asia, but has spread around Europe, the USA, and Canada.
Before we get into what this plant is and why it causes humans so much pain, we will
give you some examples of people that have run into the hogweed and were left looking
like someone threw boiling water on them.
Later we’ll also tell you how to avoid that happening, and what to do if you do get stung
by this beast of a plant.
In 2018, during a terrible heatwave in the UK, the British press ran a story about a
Welsh farmer that almost lost his leg because he’d brushed-up against a Giant Hogweed.
The Express newspaper wrote, “He has undergone multiple emergency operations, including one
surgery to open his leg from the knee cap to the ankle bone.”
That’s why it’s called by the sometimes-hyperbolic British tabloid media, “The Most Dangerous
Plant in Britain.”
You can do a quick Google images search for this plant, and those photos of blisters might
put you off your dinner.
It seems the plant enjoys the British countryside, with other recent reports talking about boys
and girls being hospitalized and left permanently scarred after coming into contact with the
plant.
The British media says that it grows mostly along riverbanks, wasteland, and in public
parks.
The BBC writes that it was introduced to the UK back in 1893 by some idiot that liked the
look of it and had it for decorative purposes.
After that, we are told the plant, “escaped from domestication.”
Ok, you get the picture, this is one mean plant.
But what makes it so dangerous?
The department of environmental conservation for New York state has explained why a brush
with Giant Hogweed can lead to you getting burned.
This is because the sap in the plant contains something called photosensitizing furanocoumarins.
Some plants produce these furanocoumarins to repel predators such as insects or mammals.
But when these chemicals hit the skin and interact with sunlight, you can get phytophotodermatitis.
Any part of the plant can contain this sap, so whatever you do, don’t try and chop one
down or hit it with a weedwacker.
This bad reaction starts like a bruise, then gets red, and then can turn into horrific
blisters.
The redness, pain and swelling can last a couple of weeks, and if you’re really unlucky,
your injury could become infected like that farmer from Wales.
The scars after the initial bad reaction can last months or even years.
Some reports say they can be permanent.
It gets worse, too.
If you get this sap in your eyes, you could be blinded forever, though there has been
a Giant Hogweed problem in the U.S. for over a decade, and thankfully there haven’t been
any reports of blindness.
In 2018, Time magazine said this plant is being found in parts of the USA where it hasn’t
been seen before.
“It’s a dangerous plant but I’m not overly concerned about it.
This seems to be an isolated incident,” said a professor at Virginia Tech, close to
where the unwanted beast had been discovered.
Virginia now joins Maine, Michigan, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Vermont, Pennsylvania,
North Carolina, Illinois, Washington, and Oregon, as states where Giant Hogweed grows.
Another thing that can happen to you, is that the area where you get burned can become very
sensitive to sunlight for a long time after.
One young girl in the UK was told that if sunlight ever hit the scars she had, they
would re-blister on exposure.
She was told to wear sunblock on those areas forever.
You should see what happened to that 17-year old kid in Virginia; it looks pretty darn
awful as he took some hits to the face after he had tried to chop down a Giant Hogweed
while doing some landscaping.
Not only will he have scars on his face that may last a long time, but he’ll have to
be very careful about exposing that part of his face to the sun for the rest of his life.
“I thought it was just a little bit of skin at first, but then big chunks of my face were
falling off,” he told the press.
He was rushed to hospital and treated for second and third-degree burns.
So, how can you avoid the Giant Hogweed, aka, Heracleum Mantegazzianum.
As you know by the name, it can grow to a great height, reaching as high as 18 feet
(5.4 meters).
It has a thick, hairy, purple-spotted stem and its flowers are white.
Its leaves are sharp, kind of spiky-looking, like bat wings.
If you see it, report it to the authorities, and they will likely do something about it.
You see, this thing spreads like wildfire- pardon the pun- as it produces between 20,000
and 50,000 seeds a year that fall as far as 30 feet (9.1 meters) from the plant and can
be taken farther away by wind or water.
Given some time, your favorite public park could become infested with these horrible
plants, and as happened in Manchester, UK, a fun day out for the kids can turn into a
nightmare.
Ok, so first of all, whether you are in the UK or the U.S., you should report it.
But let’s say you’ve already brushed-up against the hogweed, what to do next?
The first thing is to run cold water on the reddening area and wash it with soap.
The quicker you can do this, the better.
If you get sap in the eyes, rinse them with cold water and wear sunglasses.
Keep any affected area away from sunlight.
It’s likely if you had the red reaction, you will get some kind of blistering too.
Applying topical steroids to that area can help with the pain.
If it starts to look bad, head for the hospital.
So, have you ever come across a Giant Hogweed?
What’s the worst reaction you’ve ever had to a dangerous plant?
Let us know in the comments!
Also, be sure to check out our other video called What Is The Deadliest Substance On
Earth?
Thanks for watching, and, as always, don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe.
See you next time!