The Friday Fillip

As you read this, I’ll be lolling on a beach in Ontario that’s the lovely part of an island described by some as a sandbar held together by poison ivy. It’s not nearly as bad as that makes it sound. But the shrub Toxicodendron radicans is, in fact, pervasive, and I’m really, really allergic to the nasty urushiol it offers up to the unwary.

Those of us who revel in concrete surrounds and the comparative safety of traffic tend to forget that nature has green claws that can make trouble. There’s poison oak, as well, and poison sumac. Now I have to add wild parsnip to the list.

But at the very top of this list is a new and fearsome beast originally from southwestern Asia, the giant hogweed. This monster — a member of the carrot family! — can get to five metres in height, looking like Queen Anne’s lace on steroids. And it packs a punch. Check out the careful warning I’ve taken from the (really great) site, OntarioWeeds.com:

Giant hogweed can be a serious health hazard for humans. Its watery, clear sap contains photosensitizing compounds (furanocoumarins), which, when in contact with human skin and in combination with UV radiation, can cause burning. Content varies depending on plant part, but contact should be avoided at all times. The reaction of the skin depends on individual sensitivity. After 24hrs, reddening and swelling of the skin can be noticed, which is followed by an inflammatory reaction after 3 days. Depending on individual sensitivity, effects can last for months and skin can remain sensitive to UV light for years. Research has also shown that furanocoumarins in general may be carcinogenic and teratogenic.

Apparently, if you get that “watery, clear sap” in your eyes, you might lose your sight.

This “triffid” is making its way into Canada, having been reported in Ontario, Nova Scotia (to which Alexander Graham Bell may have introduced it!), and Newfoundland, to my knowledge. And I learn as I write this that it’s been found on the sandbar idyll to which I’m about to repair.

The video below gives you the best pictures of what to avoid.

So send your sympathetic and protective thoughts my way as I laze carefully outside the safety of the city. And watch out for killer weeds.