Giant hogweed
Heracleum mantegazzianum
Overview
Photo credit: ©GBNNSS
Heracleum mantegazzianum - Giant hogweed
Widely Spread Species:
Origin and Distribution:
Potential/Known impacts:
How did it get here:
Is it found in Ireland or Northern Ireland?:
You can help by reporting any sightings: @ the Centre for Environmental Data & Recording (CEDaR) - Or via the iRecord App.
Manual Method for prevention:
Futher Resources:
More Methods to Prevent Spread
BE PLANT WISE!!
Current Legislative Position (Listed on 02 August 2017)
Heracleum mantegazzianum - Giant hogweed
Widely Spread Species:
- Under Article 19 of Invasive Alien Species Regulation (1143/2014) Giant hogweed has been identified as a Widely Spread Species in Northern Ireland and as such, management measures will be put in place to minimise its impacts.
Habitat:
Description:
- It is found in bogs, fens, grasslands, woodland, urban, agricultural and horticultural areas, and riparian zones.
Description:
- It is a tall perennial herb (3-5m) with a pale yellow root
- Its stem is hollow and is green with purple patches
- The flowers are white and in umbels up to 80cm across
- Its leaves are large (up to 2.5m across), and are in opposite pairs with a terminal leaf. It can produce up to 50,000 seeds per year
- It usually produces seeds before dying each year
Origin and Distribution:
- Giant hogweed is native to Asia but is now invasive in North America, continental Europe, Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Potential/Known impacts:
- This species has a high competitive advantage over native plants
- It can out compete for space and resources by shading out native and desirable plants
- There is also a loss in invertebrate diversity as the plants these animals depend on become scarcer
- Other impacts include a significant increase in riverbank erosion
- In summer time rights of way and access points for water users such as fishermen may become impassable due to high infestation rates of giant hogweed
- It is also harmful to human health as it produces sap that causes severe burns that will blister in the sun and continue to effect the skin for many years after an initial burn
How did it get here:
- Initially the species was brought in as an ornamental plant of parks and gardens
- Its seeds can travel on the wind and in water, meaning that it can travel relatively easily in the right conditions
- It may be unintentionally spread further by though contaminated soil where seeds can lie dormant for 20 years
Is it found in Ireland or Northern Ireland?:
- It is present and widespread across Northern Ireland.
- More distribution information can be found at NBN Atlas NI.
You can help by reporting any sightings: @ the Centre for Environmental Data & Recording (CEDaR) - Or via the iRecord App.
Manual Method for prevention:
- Hand cutting should never be undertaken unless the operator is wearing full protective clothing to prevent skin contamination by the sap.
- Infestations need to be controlled by digging out the whole plant as cutting through the stem must be done below ground level to ensure damage to the rootstock and to prevent regrowth from the base.
- This is known as 'tap rooting' (see images below)
- Cut the taproot approximately six inches below ground level using a spade, shovel, or anything with a large sharp edge
- In areas with erosion or on steep inclines (where additional soil may be covering the plant base), plants may need to be cut up to ten inches below the soil
- When cutting the root you need to separate the thick stem base bearing old leaf scars from the root below
- If possible (for your safety), cut the plants before the leaves are very large
- The cut part of the plants should be removed from the soil and left out to dry (safest for control person) or bagged and disposed of
- Survey the site for up to 7 years after the last growth as remaining seeds may be viable and regrow
Futher Resources:
- NIEA Information and Identification Guide
- NIEA Signage
- The Giant Hogweed Best Practice Manual - 'Guidelines for the management and control of an invasive weed in Europe'
- NOBANIS Fact Sheet
- Property Care Association Guidance
- RAPID (Reducing and Preventing IAS Dispersal) LIFE - Good Practice Management - Giant Hogweed.
More Methods to Prevent Spread
- Promote native species and biodiversity - use alternative, native plants
- Know what you are buying/growing and source native Irish seed and plants
- Do not swap plants and cuttings
- Follow control advice and watch out for hitchhikers - inspect new imported purchases for invasive pest and pathogens
- Never collect plants from the wild
- Safe disposal of plant material and growing media
- Report all sightings.
BE PLANT WISE!!
- Download these posters and promote in your area.
Current Legislative Position (Listed on 02 August 2017)
- This species must not intentionally be brought into the Union; kept; bred; transported to, from or within the United Kingdom, unless for the transportation to facilities in the context of eradication; placed on the market; used or exchanged; permitted to reproduce, grown or cultivated; or released into the environment.