Giant Hogweed

[mummytait]

I know this is not native to this country, but where did it come from and how did it get here?

Was it imported for its attractiveness?

[Thunderbird+]

Hi mummytait,
It was apparently introduced from central Acia in 1893.
At that time exotic plants were all the rage and this one was grown as a tall specimin in gardens, unfortunately it was found to be invasive and soon escaped onto road-sides and waste ground forming large collonies.
It can grow to 5m and is sometimes called the cartwheel flower due to the huge flower heads.

[mummytait]

Thanks, that was my understanding. It is beautiful and i'm also quite interested in the toxicity.

[Thunderbird+]

Toxic'ity, yes it has poisonous sap that cancause a bad blistering of the skin, especially in sunlight.
When I was a kid we used to make pea-shooters out of hogweed but luckily it was'nt the giant variety, I dont remember ever seeing any around then or any Hemlock which is also related and has purple blotches on the stems which serves to indicate that it's poisonous if theres someone arount to warn you of it.