--- title: Huge Hogweed Plant That Can Cause Blindness Confirmed in New State description: Giant hogweed, a huge plant with sap that can cause burns and blindness, was confirmed for the first time in Virginia. canonical: https://time.com/5317036/giant-hogweed-virginia/ author: Jamie Ducharme article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-06-20T14:04:33.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T20:37:38.803Z article:section: Science og:title: A Giant Plant That Can Cause Blindness Was Spotted for the First Time in a New State og:description: It's found along the East Coast og:url: https://time.com/5317036/giant-hogweed-virginia/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3e59006f8b31107b/6989336efb4eac183c896ea5/giant-hogwood.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Seed head of Giant Hogwood silhouetted on low sun og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: A Giant Plant That Can Cause Blindness Was Spotted for the First Time in a New State twitter:description: It's found along the East Coast twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3e59006f8b31107b/6989336efb4eac183c896ea5/giant-hogwood.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # A Giant Plant That Can Cause Blindness Was Spotted for the First Time in a New State  by [Jamie Ducharme](https://time.com/author/jamie-ducharme/)  ## Jamie Ducharme Ducharme is a contributor to TIME. Jun 20, 2018 2:04 PM UTC  Heracleum mantegazzianum Heracleum mantegazzianumRoel\_Meijer—Getty Images/iStockphoto  by [Jamie Ducharme](https://time.com/author/jamie-ducharme/)  ## Jamie Ducharme Ducharme is a contributor to TIME. Jun 20, 2018 2:04 PM UTC The presence of a hazardous invasive plant that can cause burns and blindness has been confirmed for the first time in Virginia, authorities said. The [Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services confirmed](http://www.vdacs.virginia.gov/press-releases-180619-hog-weed.shtml) on Tuesday that [giant hogweed](https://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/plants/hogweed.shtml), a toxic weed that can grow up to 15 feet tall and resembles the less dangerous cow parsnip, was identified at a private home in Clarke County. Earlier this month, Virginia Department of Transportation employees who remembered hearing about the species years earlier reported a bunch growing in Frederick County, [the Washington _Post_ reports](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/local/wp/2018/06/19/dont-touch-it-invasive-plant-with-sap-that-can-cause-blindness-found-in-virginia/?noredirect=on&utm%5Fterm=.f32679ef9b3b). Exposure to sap produced by the giant hogweed plant can, in conjunction with sunlight and moisture, cause serious skin and eye irritation, blistering, scarring and even blindness, [according to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation](https://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/39809.html). Scientists, however, are urging Virginia residents to stay calm. The hogweed in Clarke County, at least, seems to have been planted intentionally by a previous homeowner, [according to Virginia Tech researchers](https://vtnews.vt.edu/articles/2018/06/hogweed-media-advisory.html), and is unlikely to spread. > [](https://twitter.com/VaAgriculture/status/1009171956728508417) “It’s a dangerous plant but I’m not overly concerned about it. This seems to be an isolated incident,” Michael Flessner, an assistant professor and extension weed science specialist at Virginia Tech, said in a statement. While the situation in Virginia seems to be under control, hogweed, which is native to Asia and was introduced to the U.S. in 1917, can be found in quite a few East Coast states — it’s [especially prevalent in New York](https://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/41952.html) — as well as a [handful of others across the country](http://www.eddmaps.org/distribution/usstate.cfm?sub=4536). Individuals who think they may have discovered giant hogweed, which is part of the United States Department of Agriculture’s [noxious weeds list](https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/planthealth/plant-pest-and-disease-programs/pests-and-diseases/SA%5FWeeds/SA%5FNoxious%5FWeeds%5FProgram), should notify local environmental authorities, who can remove the pests using protective gear. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5317036/giant-hogweed-virginia/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5317036/giant-hogweed-virginia/"},"headline":"A Giant Plant That Can Cause Blindness Was Spotted for the First Time in a New State","datePublished":"2018-06-20T14:04:33.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T20:37:38.803Z","description":"It can be found along the East Coast","url":"https://time.com/5317036/giant-hogweed-virginia/","keywords":["plants","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3e59006f8b31107b/6989336efb4eac183c896ea5/giant-hogwood.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jamie Ducharme","jobTitle":"Ducharme is a contributor to TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/jamie-ducharme/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3e59006f8b31107b/6989336efb4eac183c896ea5/giant-hogwood.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Seed head of Giant Hogwood silhouetted on low sun","caption":"Seed head of Giant Hogwood silhouetted on low sun","creditText":"Roel_Meijer—Getty Images/iStockphoto","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/plants/","name":"plants"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5317036/giant-hogweed-virginia/","name":"A Giant Plant That Can Cause Blindness Was Spotted for the First Time in a New State"}}]}] ```