I didn’t even have time to blink an eye when a gang of children, whooping and warlike cries, clutching improvised sabers in their hands - wooden rods and sticks, rushed to attack the thickets of spreading giants (some of them reached a height of two meters). "Stop! It's dangerous!" - I managed to shout, but it was already too late. The kids began to chop and destroy the “enemy”. Pieces of greenery flew in all directions, poisonous juice splashed out... In the evening, one of the “fighters” was taken away by ambulance - the boy’s hand was swollen, red and unbearably painful. It’s good that everything worked out well - the doctors lubricated my hand with some ointment and gave me an injection. The rest of the children, fortunately, received only minor “injuries.” Eh, that's what the city kids mean - they had no idea what they had to face.
However, it is not only children who suffer from these poisonous plants. Every year in the summer, thousands of adults become victims of hogweeds, which have long occupied wastelands, inhospitable areas, and roadsides in most Russian territories. Sometimes thickets of hogweed can be found even in city parks, or even courtyards.
I was once sure that hogweed is a mutant plant, either specially bred in secret laboratories, or appeared due to environmental pollution. And one day on the bus I heard that its seeds were brought to us by American spies... However, neither spies nor the insidious green men from flying saucers were involved in the appearance of this plant. In fact, this is not even a mutant, but just a herbaceous plant of the Umbrella family - Sosnovsky's hogweed. The Latin name of the genus is Heracleum, named after Hercules, which is believed to be associated with the high growth rate of hogweed and its heroic size. Hogweed settles mainly in well-lit and humid places, is not afraid of frost and heat and can grow up to 4 meters in height. It should be noted that among the representatives of Herculean plants there are also safe, edible species, for example, Siberian hogweed. Sosnovsky's hogweed is used as livestock feed in processed form, like silage.
The homeland of Sosnovsky's hogweed is the Caucasus. In the central zone and many other regions of Russia, the plant appeared in the last century, after the Patriotic War. The culprit in the spread of hogweed is Joseph Stalin. Once, having learned that hogweed is a valuable fodder crop in North America, Comrade Stalin personally ordered its cultivation everywhere. From a weed, hogweed has become a cultivated plant. Stalin's work on breeding hogweed was continued by Khrushchev and then Brezhnev. In the 70s, the Poles were advised to grow hogweed, but local livestock farmers did not like it, since the milk of cows consuming hogweed was bitter. In addition, it turned out that the plant is poisonous. And although they stopped growing hogweed in Poland, for a long time it was called nothing more than “Stalin’s revenge.”
In our country, hogweed cultivation has also been abandoned almost everywhere. But it was already too late. The giant broke free and began to conquer territories, multiplying on its own, without any control. Even about 30 years ago, when the plant was cultivated, fears were expressed that after the end of the period of operation, hogweed crops would be difficult to limit or destroy and that it could turn into a malicious weed of fields, since it is capable of propagation by self-sowing. These fears have now come true.
The danger of hogweed is that all parts of the plant contain furocoumarins - substances that sharply increase the body's sensitivity to ultraviolet radiation. Contact with stems, leaves, and flowers of hogweed leads to burns on the skin. The areas of the body that receive the juice soon begin to itch and turn red. The skin swells and after two weeks begins to peel. Dark pigment spots remain as a memory, lasting up to six months, and in more severe cases, for life.
Hogweed causes the most severe phytoburns when it comes into contact with a wet body on hot sunny days. But to get a burn, short and mild sun exposure to an area of skin stained with plant sap is sufficient. Doctors say that blisters from contact with hogweed can appear either after a few hours or after a few days. The main victims of hogweed thickets were and remain children.
It is not only the residents of Russia who suffer from the poisonous “Hercules”. In Estonia, for example, the Ministry of Environmental Protection even began developing a set of measures aimed at its destruction. And you can defeat the insidious plant only by mechanical means: for example, by digging it up one by one in wet weather or by flooding it for 47 days. Many people try to mow the plant before the seeds ripen, but the hogweed is so tenacious that it needs to be mowed three times during the summer while still in its tender lettuce form, cutting off the main stem to 10 cm from the ground. And so for three or four summers in a row - this is how long the seeds do not lose their germination. Moreover, hogweed has protected itself from a man with a scythe - it grows along hummocks, ditches, river banks and forest edges.
To avoid contact with hogweed, you need to promptly recognize the dangerous plant and stay away from it. But if a “collision” does occur, you must immediately blot the juice with a handkerchief or napkin, without smearing it, and immediately cover the affected area from the sun with several layers of fabric (clothing or bandage). At home, you should thoroughly wash the area of contact with hogweed poison with soap and water or alcohol. Parts of the body after contact with juice or plant should be protected from sunlight for two days. If contact occurred in the dark and no measures were taken, then when the skin is irradiated the next day, the clinical symptoms are the same as with damage during the day. The cunning of hogweed lies in the fact that if you do not notice in time that the poison gets on the skin, then it is too late to do anything.
Hogweed is somewhat like a giant version of dill. Possibly due to the similarity of the umbrellas.
This resident causes trouble in the garden due to its large rhizome. How to defeat a poisonous plant and why hogweed is dangerous - read on.
According to one version, hogweed came to Russia from the Caucasus, according to another, from America. Only the sowing dates coincide - the 1950s.
According to Wikipedia, Stalin ordered the fields to be sown with umbrella crops and the plants to be fed to animals.
But local collective farms quickly became disillusioned with the value of hogweed. Because of this food, cow's milk acquired a bitter taste.
Moreover, the plant turned out to be poisonous. In Russia, Belarus, the Czech Republic and nearby countries, large-scale methods of combating the weed were developed.
Description of a poisonous plant
The grass belongs to the perennial plants of the Apiaceae family. These weeds are incredibly tenacious and difficult to get rid of.
An umbrella can reach a height of 3-4 meters. Translated from German, the name sounds like “bear's paw”.
Important! Previously, greens were often used for culinary purposes, added as a seasoning to soups and pickles.
It is because of the hogweed that borscht got its name. But later this story was forgotten.
Greens are toxic; furocoumarins accumulate in the greatest quantities in the stem. Contact with grass may cause burns.
Children who react with acute dermatitis are especially sensitive to the substance. Cases of vision loss have been recorded when children used a thick stem of hogweed instead of a telescope in a game.
Why is hogweed dangerous?
The most dangerous species in terms of concentration of poisons is Sosnovsky's hogweed. Plant components exhibit activity precisely under the influence of sunlight.
Harmful include all parts of the grass, not only the stem, but also the fruits and leaves. Compared to the Siberian common species, Sosnovsky causes the greatest trauma to human skin.
Poisoning with a poisonous plant occurs according to the following scenario: the substance gets on the skin, a person goes outside in sunny weather, ultraviolet radiation affects the affected area and the area becomes inflamed: blisters, ulcers and redness appear.
Important! Poisoning can occur not only from direct contact, but also through clothing.
The juice can cause 1st degree burns. For prevention, it is recommended not to chop or tear the plant with your bare hands.
Children should be especially protected from exposure to poisonous juice. The small organism reacts sharply to an external irritant, dermatitis and allergic reactions appear, including urticaria and Quincke's edema.
How to get rid of hogweed in your summer cottage
To get rid of a weed, it is useless to chop it. Due to its ability to reproduce quickly, hogweed is a long-lived plant, which is not easy to get rid of.
Its weak side is that it dies if there is a lack of sunlight, but the seedlings will also die if there is a lack of ultraviolet light.
Study carefully all the strengths of the plant to develop weed control tactics:
- Resilience. Even if you cut off the top, after a while young shoots will appear again.
Hogweed does not reproduce by roots, which is its weakness. But one flower contains about 70 thousand seeds. By cutting off the top, you will sow again for a new generation.
- Even with systematic pruning of umbrellas, the grass will attempt to reproduce.
The weed will not stop spreading for decades. So this way of fighting is simply ineffective.
- Hogweed germinates using the method of natural selection. Near the weed, other crops will die from the essential oils contained in the flowers of the plant.
- The seeding scale can reach a distance of about 3 km in strong winds and warm weather conditions. But usually the seeds fall close to the parent stem.
- After cutting the shoot, the seeds do not die for several days. If the hogweed is left lying on the ground, then after a while new shoots will appear again.
The root of the plant is incredibly tenacious and strong. In order to combat the hogweed population, it is necessary to get rid of the stem roots.
The most effective methods to get rid of the weed forever are described in the table:
| Fighting method | Description |
| Mulching | A method in which hogweed will no longer actively grow and reproduce. A thick dark bag is put on the head, through which sunlight should not penetrate. To kill the grass, cut the bottom of the stem, weigh down the umbrella with something heavy, you can additionally fence the area with boards |
| Digging up the stemroot | The older the plant, the harder it is to fight it. Young shoots can be pulled out after wearing gloves to protect them from the poisonous sap. The fragile stem will not allow you to pull out a large rhizome. For a mature representative of the weed, you can additionally use a shovel or rake, since without technical assistance it will not be possible to get rid of the plant. To prevent an adult specimen from producing new recruits, wrap the top with a plastic bag before digging. After a few weeks, the digging procedure must be repeated. Fallen fruits (if pruning does not occur during the flowering period) must be collected from the ground |
You can also use a biological method - eliminate the plant by increasing the insect population.
Sosnovsky's hogweed is a very acute and pressing problem today. Millions of rubles are allocated from the budget to combat it, land owners are obliged to destroy its thickets under threat of a fine, but the weed is in no hurry to quickly lose its position. This is due to the extraordinary adaptability and vitality of the plant.
- Sosnovsky's hogweed can cause burns, loss of vision, sensitivity to smells and tastes, suffocation and severe allergies.
- It can be a biennial or perennial plant, growing new shoots every year.
- The seeds are able to ripen independently, even on cut branches.
- Under unfavorable conditions for germination, seeds can be stored in the soil viable for up to 5 years, waiting for the best moment to sprout.
- If the plant is perennial, in the first year of its life it devotes its main energy to growing the main vertical root, rather than shoots located above ground level.
- If Sosnovsky's hogweed has a large height, it means that it has been growing in this place for at least the second year.
- Powerful stems and roots pull all nutrients from the soil, depriving other plants of the opportunity to receive the necessary microelements.
- The weed is capable of developing resistance to the chemicals with which they tried to poison it, but could not completely destroy it.
- The main thing that is harmful about poisonous hogweed is its juice, which under the influence of the sun turns into a toxic liquid that leaves burns on the body.
- Sosnovsky's hogweed is very difficult to fight, since its ability to survive and adapt in any environment can rightfully be regarded as absolutely phenomenal.
The history of the appearance of this unusual weed in Russia is somewhat reminiscent of horror movie scenarios about failed experiments, the results of which were unpredictable, and the experimental samples escaped from the laboratory and took on a life of their own.
Hogweed Sosnovsky: history of appearance
Hogweed Sosnovsky: photo
It is quite simple to distinguish Sosnovsky's hogweed by looking at the photo. Due to its large size and a number of characteristic features, it is very difficult to confuse it with other plants.
- The average height of Sosnovsky's hogweed is 2-4 meters, but sometimes giants up to 6-8 meters are found.
- Sosnovsky's hogweed is the second largest species from the Umbellaceae family; only Mantegazzi's hogweed can be larger, but it is much less common in Russia.
- The diameter of the leaves can reach 80-100 centimeters.
- The inflorescences of Sosnovsky's hogweed can be from 50 to 80 centimeters in diameter.
- The plant blooms with small white flowers, less often pinkish, from July to the end of August.
- The green stem has brown, brown and dark red streaks.
Hogweed Sosnovsky: burns
The main thing that makes Sosnovsky's hogweed dangerous is burns of varying degrees of severity. They are caused by a chemical reaction between plant juices and sunlight. Where the juice gets on the body, the following sensations may appear:
- Burning, itching, tingling.
- Increased sensitivity.
- Slight swelling and edema.
- Redness or darkening.
- Throbbing pain.
- Watery blisters.
- Blisters.
- Increased body temperature.
- Labored breathing.
- Weakness.
- Dizziness.
- Nausea.
- Chills.
When Sosnowski's hogweed causes burns, they may begin to appear immediately or some time after contact. The exact period required for the reaction depends on the circumstances of each situation and the individual characteristics of each person’s body.
Sosnovsky's hogweed is subject to mandatory destruction in all territories. You can safely get rid of a poisonous weed with the help of SES. Herbicide treatment does not take much time and gives a visible result.
Our Moscow region has always pleased us with mushrooms and rivers, but this is still the case. Currently, a very dangerous enemy of humans has spread in the fields and edges of the forest - a poisonous plant called Hogweed. It is sometimes difficult and even dangerous to pass through two-meter thickets. But what if you got a dacha with this “comrade”? Let's figure out what the reason is and how to deal with this problem.
What is Hogweed?
Hogweed Sosnowski or Heracleum- a species of plant from the umbrella family of very large sizes. Usually its height is 1-2 meters, but specimens up to 3 meters high are often found.
Biennial plant or perennial, monocarpic (that is, it blooms and bears fruit once in its life, after which it dies). The stem is furrowed-ribbed, rough, partially hairy, purple or with purple spots, bears very large trifoliate or pinnately dissected leaves, usually yellowish-green in color. It has a root tap system, the bulk of the roots are located in a layer of up to 0.3 meters, individual roots reach a depth of two meters.
Another type of Hogweed that we remember from childhood is the Siberian Hogweed - an umbellate perennial edible plant. It is often called a beam in Russia. The core of the stem is quite edible and has a slightly sweet taste.
History of the spread of Hogweed Sosnowski
Hogweed was already well known in Ancient Rome. Pliny the Elder called it “Heracleum”, thereby emphasizing its power and durability.
How did Hogweed appear on Russian territory? In the early Stalinist times, the USSR began to actively cooperate with the United States. We also adopted best practices. There was nothing to feed livestock in the post-war period, so we looked at American farmers.
In the USSR, hogweed was artificially sown to feed livestock, and then its uncontrolled self-propagation began. In the 1990s, the cultivation of hogweed was abandoned. Currently, in Russia it is widespread in the Moscow region, Tatarstan, and the Caucasus.
What is the danger?
Hogweed is a poisonous plant. Only when a small drop of juice gets on an open area of skin does a person get burns.
During the growing season, the stem of hogweed contains furanocoumarins, which cause severe dermatitis in humans and animals. Its effect is similar to a burn. As soon as you carelessly touch the hogweed, large blisters swell on the skin, which over time turn into dark, painful spots and scars. The lesions take a very long time to heal - 3-6 months.
The burn can recur spontaneously after some time, as soon as the person sunbathes a little. If large areas of skin are exposed to hogweed, death is possible (this often happens to children). But it’s not any easier for adults either. The pain from hogweed burns is very painful and long-lasting.
Heraclium can cause blindness if its juice gets into your eyes. The ubiquitous children are especially often victims of this giant weed.
How to deal with hogweed?
In fact, this problem needs to be solved not even at the level of local authorities, but by the whole world. Only a full-scale comprehensive annual company can reduce it
There are methods to combat hogweed:
Use of herbicide. Roundup can be used against hogweed. Dilute 100 ml per 4 liters of water. The resulting solution is sprayed onto the young leaves of the hogweed. Four liters are enough for about 80 square meters. meters of hogweed thickets. The first generation of the plant is killed by 75%.
Mowing thickets. When mowing this grass, you need to be extremely careful: wear thick clothing, cover your hands and face. By mowing plants before flowering, you can prevent flowering and seed formation. However, old seeds in the ground will try to break through and bloom for 12 years.
Sowing the lawn. We mow down the hogweed. We spread geo-textile on top. Pour a five-centimeter layer of soil. And we plant strong lawn grass there, sparing no seeds. You need to make sure that the hogweed does not bloom nearby and does not shed new seeds.
Black film. To set up a real vegetable garden, in the first year in the spring, cover the entire area with a black film with a thickness of at least 100 microns. Press something on top. In the second year, starting in mid-June, remove the film. Dig up the soil and plant vegetables. Please note that the film should remain on the site all year round.
Precautions when working with hogweed
- Apply sunscreen;
- Prepare water and soap;
- Do not touch the plant with exposed areas of the body;
- Work only with long, waterproof gloves;
- Wear trousers and jackets with long sleeves and water-resistant materials;
- Put boots on your feet;
- We use safety glasses;
- After finishing work, wash the tools;
- Wash your clothes; Do not use trimmers or hedge trimmers;
- If you work in tandem with someone, then work away from each other.
What to do if Hogweed juice gets on you?
If contact with hogweed juice occurs, the contact areas must be washed with laundry soap. If blisters appear, measures are taken that are always prescribed after burns.
