Noxious Weeds
ANGELICA - BISHOP WEED (GOUTWEED) - COW PARSNIP - GIANT HOG WEED
POISON HEMLOCK - QUEEN ANNE’S LACE - WATER HEMLOCK - WILD PARSNIP
Do not touch any of these plants unless you can positively identify them.
​Keep children and animals away from them.
When it comes to white lacy wildflowers, KNOW YOUR PLANTS!
Original Article Credit to: LOUISE GAUNT-SMITH·MONDAY, JUNE 20, 2016
ANGELICA - Less than 8 feet tall. Compound leaves can reach 2 feet wide and have dozen of small leaflets. Waxy green to purple, smooth, hollow stems, 1 to 2 1/2 inches in diameter. Softball size clusters of white or greenish white flowers, less then 1 foot in diameter.
BISHOP WEED (GOUTWEED) - 1-3 feet tall. Highly invasive. Used as ground cover. Leaves may be green or variegated. Stems are erect, hollow and grooved. The upper leaves are ternate, broad and toothed. The flowers are in umbels , terminal with rays 15 - 20, with small white flowers.
COW PARSNIP - Plants are 5 to 8 feet tall, can cause a blistery rash in sensitive individuals. Leaves are 2 to 2 1/2 feet and covered in soft hairs that may give a velvety appearance. Deeply ridged stems maybe green or slightly purple and 1 to 2 inches in diameter. Hairs are fine, soft and fuzzy. Flowers several weeks before giant hogweed. Flower clusters are up to 1 foot across. The 'juice' from Cow Parsnip leaves and stems may sensitize the skin so that it is very easily sunburned. Washing off the juice and wearing long sleeves for a few days apparently is the ticket after exposure. ​
GIANT HOGWEED - Taller than 8 ft. Unevenly lobed leaves, up to 5 feet across. Green stems with purple blotches. Stems are 2-4 inches wide and hollow with rigid hairs. White flower clusters that appear in late June and July. Flowers are similar to queen-Anne’s-lace, but much larger, up to 2 feet across. Skin contact followed by exposure to sunlight produces painful, burning blisters that may leave purple or black scars. Eye contact can cause temporary or permanent blindness.
POISON HEMLOCK - Plants are 4 to 9 feet tall. The sap and roots are highly toxic. Bright green fern-like leaves, maybe glossy. Smooth, waxy stems with purple blotches. Small white flowers in numerous flat topped clusters on all branches. Socrates drank the poisonous juice to commit suicide. Native Americans once used hemlock to poison tips of arrows.
QUEEN ANNE’S LACE - plants are 1-4 feet tall. Lacy fern like leaves. Slender, hairy, hollow, green stems. Small white flowers in a flat cluster 3 to 4 inches wide from May to October. Contact with sap can cause dermatitis reaction which is aggravated by exposure to sun.
WATER HEMLOCK - Plants are 3 to 6 feet tall, and all plant parts are poisonous. Leaflets are up to 4 inches long and 1 1/4 inches wide with sharp pointed teeth and veins that end in each notch. Stems are many branched and may be green or purple, or have purple streaks or spots. Flowers are white umbels up to 6 inches across with 12 - 15 groups of umbellets with 10 or more in each cluster. Native to United States.
WILD PARSNIP - Plants are 2 to 5 feet tall. Compound leaves with a main stem with 5 to 15 leaflets. grooved, hollow stems. yellow flowers. Sap contains chemicals that can cause human skin to react to sunlight, resulting in intense burns, rashes or blisters. ​
