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Old July 10th, 2011 #1
Dan Allan
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 1,787
Post "Green monster" - Dangerous giant weed on the loose

Quote:
It's got beautiful flowers as big as umbrellas -- and sap that causes blindness and third-degree burns -- and it could be coming soon to a city park near you.



Giant Hogweed, a monster plant that looks like Queen Anne's Lace -- but is more akin to the man-eating-plant Audrey II from "Little Shop of Horrors" -- is spreading in New York state, with dozens more confirmed sightings since last year, experts said yesterday.

The botanical beast is so rampant that the state Department of Environmental Conservation has even set up a special Giant Hogweed Hotline -- and ordered a special 14-man crew to root out its nesting spots along streams, roads and unsuspecting residents' back yards.

"If the sap gets on your skin and it's exposed to sunlight . . . you end up with third-degree burns, oozing and scars," Naja Kraus, the DEC's Giant Hogweed Program coordinator, told The Post.

"If it gets in your eyes, you can go blind."

The outwardly stunning plant -- with up to 20-foot stalks, 2½-foot-wide flowers and 5-foot leaves -- is now in full bloom, Kraus said.

There are currently 1,004 confirmed sightings -- 60 more than last year.

The plant was brought to New York around the late 1800s, and since then has spread mainly through the central and western parts of the state. The closest confirmed sighting to New York City has been the Muttontown Preserve on Long Island.

Asked if there had been any sighted in places such as Central Park, Kraus said no, but quickly added, "Just because it hasn't been reported doesn't mean it isn't there."

Kraus said her office has received reports of kids using the plant's 4-inch-wide stems as telescopes, putting them up to their eyes -- and getting severe burns on their faces.

And even DEC workers aren't safe: A technician who came in contact with the plant last year "got a horrible burn on her leg that she still has to cover up," Kraus said.
Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/g...#ixzz1Rj098SIy