What is hogweed? Scottish Highland local finds the toxic invasive plant on the Black Isle
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A TOXIC invasive plant was spotted on a Black Isle beauty spot, residents are being warned.
Professional dog walker, Angela Woodrow, was out on a walk when she identified a specimen of Giant Hogweed on the Avoch Industrial estate and posted a notice on a local Facebook group.
The plant, which grew along the beach, has been since reported and treated, which should see the plant die off in the coming weeks.
An invasive species, giant hogweed is a toxic plant that can cause severe skin blisters and painful burns. The sap contains a toxic chemical, which sensitises the skin to sunlight and causes severe blisters.
Ms Woodrow said: "I come across these plants all the time, I go for walks with the dogs in the middle of nowhere and I come across giant hogweed all the time, and I normally report it to the council but when I do they say it's not their land and they can't deal with it. Then I contact the landowner they say that you have to contact whoever is renting the land or leasing the land.
"Nobody wants to do it, it's something that has to be done in a controlled environment and done safely because of the repercussions so it's just the case of it's somebody else's problem. For the cost and issues
"The council advert a couple of years ago to pass on the information
"There are various locations on the Black Isle and I have passed these on the relevant information.
"It's quite toxic of dogs too, although they won't show any signs straight away and they might carry it on their hair, and they can carry that in the household.
"It's quite a horrible substance. The more people know about it the better.
"It's sadly quite popular, which is quite scary. In Scotland you have the right to roam, but the land that you walk on should be a safe environment."
According to information provided to the Ross-shire Journal by environmental agency NatureScot, the owner of the land on which giant hogweed is present has responsibility for the plant and, although there is no legal requirement to control it, people are expected to take reasonable steps to avoid its spread, and to prevent the movement of seeds on footwear, vehicles or transported topsoil.
The agency leads the Scottish Invasive Species Initiative (SISI), a five-year partnership project which aims to work with local organisations and volunteers to control invasive non-native species along riversides in Northern Scotland.
NatureScot’s Invasive Species Policy Manager, Stan Whitaker, said:“It’s really important for people to be able to recognise giant hogweed so they can avoid potentially serious injury.
“Thankfully the plant is relatively easy to identify when fully grown due to its enormous size of between two and four metres tall, with large white clusters of flowers up to 80 centimetres wide.
“Its leaves are very large and sharply divided and can be over one metre across while the stems are green with purple blotches and covered with bristly hairs.
“As well as being a health risk to people and animals, giant hogweed is also a risk to our environment because it forms dense patches which crowd out our native plants.
“It can be very tricky to eradicate, because each plant produces over 20,000 seeds, which can live in the soil for up to five years, so landowners need to take a long-term approach to removing it every year, before it flowers.”
Some control of invasive plant species has been carried out by the Ness District Salmon Fishery Board on the Avoch Burn and Avoch Beach as part of the initiative and records in the area can be reported here: https://www.invasivespecies.scot/report-invasive-plant-sighting
Chris Daphne, River Ness Fisheries Officer with the Ness District Salmon Fishery Board, has been treating giant hogweed and other invasive plants for several years.
Helen Baillot, of Avoch and Killen Community Council said: "Residents have made us aware in the past and we referred to the national programme on invasive species two years ago, hence Chris's involvement.
"I know that the hogweed Angela flagged up has been of concern over recent years. Initially locally volunteers treated it but we became aware of an official Scotland-wide project, referred it to them and they have taken over which is great.
"I have never encountered issues with landowners and the SISI programme seems to be a really valuable initiative.
"We would certainly support it being fully funded and ongoing!"
More information about the project can be found at https://www.invasivespecies.scot/invasive-plant-project
