Don't Touch This Plant!

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SOCIAL MEDIA

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CREDITS
Created by Dylan Dubeau
Executive Producer, Director, and Director of Photography: Dylan Dubeau
Host: Tasha the Amazon
Editors: Jim Pitts and Cat Senior
Researcher, Producer: Andres Salazar
Writer: Lauren Greenwood
Camera Operator: Colin Cooper

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Exploring the World of Plants and Fungi

[TragoudistrosMPH]

"Hey let's plant this giant painful plant that's incredibly invasive instead of one of its nearly identical but smaller edible cousins."

[smivan.]

In Russia we have a variant of this one called "Heracleum Sosnowsky", which is an even more vigorous version of this incredibly nasty plant.

Initially developed in middle USSR as a mass-produced feed plant for lifestock, it has now become an infamous weed plant, as it grows out of control at incredible speeds, pushes out most other plants and as such is a serious problem in many regions.

And of course, the horrific phototoxic properties of it's siblings are perfectly intact.

[robertgrey]

Poison hemlock, wild carrot, Queen Anne lace and giant hogweed! They all have very similar umbral flowers which can be dangerous! Since I use Queen Anne lace for cut flowers

[GhostOfAmsterdam]

You mentioned bamboo in this video and I realised I actually know very little about bamboo. I’d love to see a video in the future about it :)

[salty_k]

Oh no. I live in Germany and I feel so lucky that I haven't come into contact with them. I have seen them so often it feels insane that they are this poisonous.

[Wordfishtrombone]

I used to work in a produce department in the Midwest. Every spring and fall I’d get photosensitive blisters on my forearms! It was the worst! I learned to keep them out of the sun and wear long sleeves. Fascinating video!

[SSSnivy]

Tasha: It's probably best to avoid this plant anytime.
This video: *Has a bunch of photos of people standing close to the dangerous, tall, poisonous plant*

[orzelgryf]

In Poland we have close cousin of this guy, called Sosnowsky's hogweed. I remember from my childhood my grandma was showing me this plant and explaining me to never ever touch it.

[sassa]

Persian hogweed is a very close specie which is also phototoxic. In persian cuisine the seeds are used as a spice. They are called "Golpar" and very aromatic.

[kellydalstok]

There were lots of them near where I live. The parks department of my municipality started to dead head all hogweed plants last year and far fewer plants came up this year. Unfortunately the neighbouring municipalities haven’t taken any measures to try to weed out this horrible plant yet.
Their spread started with a handful of people with an alternative lifestyle who preferred “wild” gardens, i.e. who weren’t prepared to put any work into keeping their weeds in check. Hogweed spreads really fast along roads, because verges aren’t mowed as intensively as they used to be.

[DiamondAppendixVODs]

I'm surprised russia wasn't mentioned, it's just as invasive and spread here as anywhere else. I remember several patches on my way to school, and one that was trying to grow at the edge of our land plot, my dad was killing it several years in a row and I'm not sure if it's truly gone

[snood]

A weed so impressive that Genesis wrote a whole 7 minute prog rock song about it.

[jakepage]

in order to b a legal lord or MUST OWN THE ENTIRE PLOT OF LAND. SCOTTISH LAW LMAO

[Kyntteri]

I spotted a variant near my home few years back and quickly informed my city officials about it as an urgent removal. Lots of kids in the area. They soon got rid of it and it didn't come back.

[vriskaficion]

Giant hogweed is probably one of my favorite plants, simply because I admire its size and toxicity. I want to be on a giant hogweed removal team one day so I can get up close and personal with these majestic beasts in a safe manner and protect the environment from them. I go hiking in areas where they might be lurking, so I want to protect my safehavens from being overrun by this noxious plant.

[Intendeduse]

When I was a kid in Alaska, dried hogweed stalks made for excellent "sword" fights. Later in life (and less fun) I brushed up against some that was nice and alive while on a bike ride and it made the skin on my ankle inflate like a balloon... it left a scar that lasted around 7 years before finally fading away.

[richardgaspar]

I saw this plant once in our garden in a wet year, i pulled it out without gloves but i did not stay on the sun and because it had a very strong toxic odour i washed my hands thoroughly afterwards. Wild carrots and poison hemlock very commonly grow in areas with tall grass where i live, carrots have hairy stems while hemlock has red spots and no hairs on its stems. I like your educational videos on plants and animals.

[FBIandre]

4:22 actually the flowers are tiny. These plants have a giant inflorescence that is a cluster of small flowers arranged together in a stem.

[hera]

I saw this growing here in Colorado! I told people it was Giant Hogweed and they had no idea what I was talking about it was so embarrassing

[--Paws--]

I haven't heard about this plant since AlfieAesthetics talked about it so many years ago. I'm glad it's getting some needed recognition especially of how prevalent it is.
Please talk more about Apiaceae family of plants.