'Plant From Hell' Common In Western Washington

SEATTLE, WA - Check a ravine or abandoned lot around Western Washington, and you might find impressive looking plant with sharp leaves and white flowers called a giant hogweed. It's an invasive plant from the parsley family that is actually very dangerous, capable of leaving you with third-degree burns or blind.

Luckily for you — and your nightmares — researchers at the Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health at the University of Georgia run an online mapping system to record when and where invasive species are found. The real-time tracker, dubbed the Early Detection and Distribution Mapping System, provides state, county, point and GIS data for invasive species, including giant hogweed.

According to the tracker, the plant has been found in 13 counties in Washington, including all counties north of Lewis County and west of the Cascades.

• Snohomish
  • Date observed: Jan. 1, 2011
  • Reporter: Washington State Department of Agriculture
• Pierce
  • Date observed: Jan. 18, 2017
  • Reporter: Washington State Department of Agriculture
• King
  • Date observed: Jan. 19, 2017
  • Reporter: Washington State Department of Agriculture

Other states that have seen the plant include: Oregon, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New York, and most other states in the Northeast.

New York health officials minced no words on its website when it came to the giant hogweed: “Do Not Touch This Plant!” The plant, listed federally as a noxious weed, is characterized by its white, umbrella-shaped-flower clusters and closely resembles cow parsnip. The plant can grow much taller though — up to 14 feet.

“Its sap, in combination with moisture and sunlight, can cause severe skin and eye irritation, painful blistering, permanent scarring and blindness,” the New York health department said.

"A public health hazard, hogweed's clear, watery sap has toxins that cause photo-dermatitis. Skin contact followed by exposure to sunlight produces painful, burning blisters that may develop into purplish or blackened scars," King County wrote of the hazards of the weed.

Patch reporters Dan Hampton and Deb Belt contributed to this report.

Images via King County Noxious Weed Control Program