Invasive Plant Causing Burns, Blindness, Found In Alexandria

ALEXANDRIA, VA—Hogweed, an invasive plant with sap that can cause third-degree burns and blindness, has been found in Alexandria, according to a homeowners association.

The Parkfairfax Unit Homeowners Association reported on its website the invasive plant was found between two buildings on Martha Custis Drive Wednesday. The HOA confirmed with the Virginia Cooperative Extension of Virginia Tech that it was indeed hogweed.

This discovery comes after about 30 hogweed plants were found in Clarke County between Winchester and Leesburg, according to Virginia Tech researchers. It had not been confirmed to be in Virginia until the previous week.

Hogweed is native to South West Asia and first appeared in the U.S. as a garden plant in 1917, according to the Virginia Cooperative Extension's handbook on poisonous plants. The plant is bi-annual but can grow for additional years depending on the soil it's in. The plant dies after it flowers, which happens from June to August.

The handbook says the flowers are umbrella-shaped and resemble the flowers of a carrot or parsley but are much larger at one to two and a half feet wide. The leaves have an alternate arrangement, are deeply lobed and can have a diameter up to five feet. The stems are two to four inches in diameter and have purple-red blotches and white hair. (For more information on this and other neighborhood stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the free Patch Android app here.)

People coming in contact with the plant's sap can experience burn-like skin reactions, and exposure of the sap to eyes can lead to blindness, researchers say.

"In brief, the sap prevents your skin from protecting itself from sunlight, which leads to a very bad sunburn," says the New York Department of Environmental Conservation. "Heat and moisture (sweat or dew) can worsen the skin reaction. The phototoxic reaction can begin as soon as 15 minutes after contact, with sensitivity peak between 30 minutes and two hours after contact."

There are plants that look similar to hogweed such as cow parsnip, poison hemlock, Angelica and wild parsnip, so there's a good chance the plant you're seeing in your neighborhood is a type native to Virginia.

If you believe you see hogweed, do not touch it. Parkfairfax asks its residents to call its office at 703-998-6315. The HOA has instructions for safe removal and will do so as quickly as possible.

For any residents that believe they've spotted hogweed, Virginia Tech experts suggests first checking the ID guide (https://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/72766.html), taking photos of the plant and comparing to other photos, and contacting a Virginia Cooperative Extension agent or the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

Here's a map of the area where the plant was found:

Image via Virginia Tech