Giant hogweed

Fun Facts

• The umbels of a plant consist of up to 80,000 individual flowers and they produce up to 30,000 seeds.

• It is the largest non-woody, wild-growing plant species in Europe.

• The German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation assesses giant hogweed as potentially dangerous for native species and has placed it on the management list of the invasive species blacklist.

• The flowering period is from July to September.

• It flowers and fruits only once in its life. If it does not flower, it can live for several years.

• Due to the very high number of seeds, it is considered very spreadable. In addition, the seeds remain germinable for up to ten years. They germinate very early in the year and require frost to break dormancy.

• Endangerment level Germany: not evaluated

• Giant hogweed originates from the Caucasus. It was brought to Central Europe around 1890 as an ornamental plant and ran wild. It thus belongs to the non-native plants (neophytes).

• All parts of the plant are poisonous. If touched and exposed to the sun at the same time, highly itchy skin inflammations may occur, often accompanied by blistering. They can be compared to third-degree burns.