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Comment by legohead | Hacker News Reader

Russian Hogweed [1] [2], which the Russians actually bred and initially controlled, is a huge problem over there. Interesting plant, which burns you if you get the sap on your skin (reacts to sunlight), so you can't just go chopping them down willy nilly. And even if you do, it grows back. They have to be destroyed methodically. They grow at an incredible rate and dominate whatever is around them.

[1] https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/03/opinion/sunday/russia-hog...

[2] http://www.russiaknowledge.com/2020/07/14/the-day-of-the-gia...

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The seeds spread during floods and can last 15 years before sprouting. What a nightmare. We’ve got it down river, not much in my town. I’d actually love to see it in person.

The specific strain is Heracleum sosnowskyi (often called Sosnowsky's soup in native languages) - it's not the same as Giant Hogweed, but both cause similar burns. It's not just a problem in Russia but throughout many former-USSR countries.

It wasn't bred, but discovered in Sakartvelo, after which it was intentionally spread throughout the USSR to be used to produce animal fodder (feed) as it grows fast. The seeds are easily spread by rivers and can lay dormant for a long time.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heracleum_sosnowskyi

More commonly (at least in the UK) known as "giant hogweed" - they are very toxic and unpleasant.

Giant Hogweed: https://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/39809.html

I didn't know this plant would burn you. I've seen a lot of it around the Pacific Northwest. It grows like crazy and is really tall.

If it is giant hogweed, the invasive plants people in the area usually appreciate it if you let them know.

On the other hand, poison hemlock looks pretty similar, and although it is a non-native weed, it isn't noxious enough that the county will send someone out to destroy it. In my experience it's a little more common than hogweed.

> poison hemlock looks pretty similar

Well that may be it. There's a place up in Umpqua called Hemlock Lake. There's definitely a lot of hemlock out there too. But I wouldn't trust myself to differentiate, but can say that some of the really big plants looked exactly like the pictures you linked.

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