Watch out for this plant that many grow: it is an ornamental plant that can cause skin burns and blindness.Burns – Nanopress.it
Gardening and a passion for botany: there are many who enjoy growing as a hobby or to occupy their free time. But not everyone knows that there is an ornamental plant that can be toxic and cause burns on the skin and instant blindness.
You have to be careful and avoid coming into contact with it: it is a plant that many grow. Do you want to know which ornamental plant it is? Continue reading this guide and find out which plant it is. It’s really toxic!
It is an ornamental plant found both in private gardens and in uncultivated, wild places and on the banks of rivers. It is a plant of the Apiaceae family , which produces up to one hundred thousand seeds a year, which propagate with the wind, attach themselves to animal hair and even reach kilometers and kilometers away.Mantegazza hogweed – Nanopress.it
Precisely due to its rapidity of diffusion, this plant of Caucasian origin is considered invasive, dangerous and highly toxic for living beings.
Toxic Plant: Which Ornamental Plant Species Is It?
Its scientific name is Heracleum mantegazzianum or Mantegazza hogweed or giant hogweed. The name of this plant is a tribute to the neurologist, hygienist and anthropologist Paolo Mantegazza, friend of botany scholars Emile Levier and Stefano Sommier.
It is an unwanted plant and considered an ” invasive alien species “: it is capable of threatening biodiversity and causing the destruction of vegetation.
Mantegazza hogweed is an ornamental plant that was imported to the Old Continent from the Caucasus at the end of the nineteenth century. Only since the 1950s has the plant spread to uncultivated places, meadows and river banks.
Giant hogweed is a large herbaceous plant, which can reach up to 5 meters in height. The flowers are white or yellowish-green, the leaves are lobed, bright green tending to yellow in color and the fruits are covered by spiky hairs and have an ovoid appearance.
Giant Hogweed: It’s Toxic And A Danger To Biodiversity
Giant hogweed is a toxic and dangerous plant for humans and constitutes a real threat to biodiversity. Its sap is toxic and dangerous if it comes into contact with the skin or eyes .
This ornamental plant is capable of threatening biodiversity and causes the destruction of vegetation.Mantegazza hogweed – Nanopress.it
When touched, Mantegazza hogweed causes serious inflammation and blistering lesions which can leave permanent scars. If you want to eradicate giant hogweed it is best to wear protective gloves and clothing including eye protection.