N.S. government tracking giant hogweed

Nova Scotians cannow identify and track the giant hogweed on the provincial government's website.

The website gives information about the poisonous plant, and who to contact if people think they have it growing in their yards.

Giant hogweed has so far been found in nine sites around the province.

Nova Scotians are warned that if they find giant hogweed on their property, they should keep their distance and call a landscaper for professional help to remove it.

The Halifax Regional Municipality is also asking anyone who sees what they believe to be giant hogweed growing on HRM-owned property to phone themunicipality's call centreat 490-4000 to report the sighting.

HRM is going to hire a landscaping contractor to mechanically remove and dispose of giant hogweed reported and identified as being onmunicipal property, the city said in a news release Friday.

Removal work will begin the end of next week, once a contractor has been chosen.

The service does not extend to personal property.

Hogweed, which has a white flower similar to Queen Anne's lace, can grow up to six metres tall. It has been identified in the Nova Scotia communities of Jollimore, Purcells Cove, Halifax, Dartmouth, Wolfville, Grand Pre, Sydney and Baddeck.

Dr. Nancy Murphy, with the poison centre at the IWK Health Centre inHalifax,said if people do come into contact with the plant, they should immediately flush the affected area with water.

She said if the plant's sap gets on their skin, and is then exposed to sunlight, it will produce burns. The sap can also cause temporary or permanent blindness if it comes into contact with the eyes.

It's been a busy week for Marian Munro, curator of botany at the Nova Scotia Museum of Natural History.

"I've certainly known about its presence here for 20-odd years," she said Thursday. "I didn't realize it was actively spreading throughout the province and that's a lesson to keep in mind as we go forward."

Scientists will continue to rely on the public to report new sightings.

Painful burns

Individuals who believe their property contains giant hogweed should call Munroat 424-3564to confirmidentification of the plants, and then contact a landscaper to dispose of them.

Dave Staples knows all too well the danger posed exposure to the giant hogweed.

"I've been burned by it in the past, I know how bad it is. It's far too easy to just trip or kneel on a leaf that breaks and you get[sap] all over yourself," he said. "It's really bad."

Staples's hand is still scarredmore than two weeks after he got sap on it that produced blisters.

"Just blindingly painful. You'd wake up in the middle of the night because you rolled over on it and it would be really bad," he said. "It was probably one of the worst, was the worst burn I ever had."

Staples got in to trouble even though he knows better he's studying giant hogweed for his Master's degree at York University in Ontario, another province that's battling the invasive plant.

Therecent media attention on giant hogweed is long overdue, he said.

"It's a really dangerous thing," Staples said. "Knowledge is power, so the more people know the better off they'll be. They'll be able to really avoid it if they see it here."