Contents
There are many poisonous plants that are dangerous to humans. One of these is Sosnowsky’s hogweed (lat. Heracleum Sosnowskyi). From the article you will learn about the degree of danger of this plant, as well as how to destroy it.
Types of cow parsnip and how to distinguish them
Hogweed has several species, not all of which are equally dangerous to human health.
Safe varieties
A harmless variety of this plant is Siberian hogweed. Its main differences from Sosnovsky’s cow parsnip are that it does not pose a danger to humans, does not cause burns and poisoning. It has smaller flowers that have a yellowish tint. Despite its name, this species is widely distributed throughout Europe, and not only in Siberia.
Despite the dangerous “relatives”, the Siberian variety has useful properties. From the description of culture it follows that it is used not only in cooking, but also in folk medicine.
In addition to this variety, another one is known – dissected hogweed. He also does not pose such a danger as the “hero” of our today’s article.
Poisonous hogweed Sosnovsky
Sosnovsky’s hogweed grows in Our Country, Ukraine, Belarus and some European countries. Very often it grows to a huge size – a stem of several meters, decorated with snow-white bunches of flowers. On the Internet, you can find photos of people against the backdrop of these huge plants, accompanied by enthusiastic comments.
The plant itself came to our territories from the Caucasus, where it was once discovered by Soviet scientists. Its appearance (a huge stem, a dissected umbrella bunch with flowers) promised a solution to the problems of feeding livestock, but soon scientists were faced with the danger posed by the plant. However, by the time the decision was made to abandon the use of this plant, it had already managed to “occupy” a vast territory.
At the moment, the situation has worsened even more, as this dangerous grass continues to grow.
Sosnovsky’s hogweed is a dangerous poisonous plant that annually causes thousands of injuries and ruined garden and ornamental crops.
Video “How to defeat Sosnovsky’s hogweed”
This video shows how to deal with weeds in your yard.
Biological features
Now let’s take a closer look at what the danger of Sosnovsky’s hogweed is.
Suppression of other plants
The plant has a negative impact on ornamental and vegetable crops, as it produces a huge amount of seeds that suppress other plants. For example, let’s give the figures: during the period of flowering and reproduction, one plant produces an average of 20 to 35 thousand seeds. These seeds scatter around the area and sow the soil.
Given the huge number of seeds in the soil, other plants simply have nowhere to germinate, especially if they are more selective in terms of environmental conditions than hogweed. For this reason, a poisonous plant occupies large areas, simply not giving other flowers and herbs a place to grow.
Phototoxic effect
But with the impact of the plant on humans, the situation is much more serious. Hogweed is very toxic, and even with short-term contact with it, dangerous burns appear on the human body.
The fact is that the juice of the plant contains a dangerous element from the group of furanocoumarins. It remains inactive until it is exposed to ultraviolet light. Thus, as soon as the sun comes out, those parts of the body on which the juice of the plant remains will be covered with dangerous first-degree burns.
A special danger of Sosnovsky’s hogweed is that burns appear only under the influence of sunlight, immediately after contact with the plant, a person will not even feel discomfort.
In addition to burns, blisters filled with a colorless liquid form on the body. They are very painful and take a long time to heal. They can appear even if the sap of the plant has entered the body through clothing.
Single burns are not so terrible, because in the worst case, a person will need to go to the hospital, but all this can be cured. But if about 80% of the body area was affected, the outcome can be fatal.
A person can lose sight if the hogweed juice gets into his eyes. At risk are children and the elderly, whose bodies are much less resistant to the toxic juice of this plant.
Allergic effect
No less dangerous is hogweed pollen, which can become a poison for allergy sufferers. If you inhale pollen, it will significantly harm the respiratory system, even death. Due to toxic elements, the larynx begins to swell, and after some time suffocation occurs. Here it is best to immediately consult a doctor who will tell you what to do.
weed kill
After all these horror stories, you are probably interested in the question of how to deal with this infection. Usually they offer mowing the grass, and this should be done several times during the summer period, as the hogweed grows. However, we will consider all alternative methods that you can try.
Mechanical methods
This category is considered the most efficient, but also the most energy-intensive.
Digging up the roots
With the advent of spring, it is necessary to uproot and dig up all the roots of the plant that remain on your site. This method is considered one of the most effective, since in most cases it prevents the further development of a poisonous weed on the site.
Umbrella trimming
Another effective remedy against this green poison. However, one nuance must be taken into account here: the procedure can be carried out only until the seeds ripen. Otherwise, you will simply nullify all efforts, because the seeds will fall off and be sown in the ground.
Plowing and weeding
This method will be a salvation for those who have grown entire thickets of cow parsnip on the site. In the spring, you plow the land on which the grass grows, and then manually remove all the roots and stems. If after a couple of weeks the shoots begin to grow again, repeat the procedure.
You can fight Sosnowsky’s cow parsnip only in the spring. Autumn plowing will not work, because the seeds will still fall into the ground.
Author’s advice
Black film
In the spring, after waiting for the first sprouts of the weed to appear, cover it with a black film and fix it around the edges. This will limit the sun’s access to the grass and also create a greenhouse effect. As a result, the weed will simply die. With the advent of spring, you can remove the film and dig up the site.
Burning hogweed
This method should not be used, although it seems to be effective. The fact is that for the procedure, the plants need to be doused with a combustible substance and set on fire. This can lead to enormous consequences if the operation is carried out carelessly. In hot weather, the risk of a fire increases significantly.
Using remediators
They also suggest planting the site with other fast-growing plants in order to prevent the hogweed from growing. As such plants, it is proposed to plant cereals or legumes. For example, a campfire, goat’s rue and galega are great.
Chemical methods
Such methods are much less effective and harmful to the environment. Apply them or not – decide for yourself.
Herbicides
They are used before flowering, spraying petioles, leaves, umbrellas and shoots of the plant with solutions of Roundup or Tornado preparations. Since the plant is very tenacious, the treatment is carried out using a double concentration of the agent. Don’t forget protective clothing. Also remember that the drug should not get on other plants.
Graft
Vaccination is done if there are only a few plants on the site. Special preparations (for example, “Arboricide”) or liquid from the battery are injected into the stem. To do this, they are drawn into a syringe and gently injected into the plant.
Glyphosate-containing herbicides
These drugs are used to control single plants in order to avoid a negative effect on nearby plants. To do this, using a paint brush, at least 80% of the hogweed is covered with a solution.
Now you know how many dangers Sosnovsky’s cow parsnip is fraught with. Therefore, when going out into nature, carefully monitor which plants surround you in order to avoid unpleasant consequences. If the weed grows in your area, choose one of the proposed methods for its elimination.