August 4, 2025 • 62 mins
The hidden dangers lurking along our favorite trails aren't always what you'd expect. In this eye-opening episode, Jerry welcomes Monica from the Invasive Species Centre to shed light on two particularly hazardous plants gaining ground across North America: wild parsnip and giant hogweed.
These invasive species might look innocuous—one with yellow flowers resembling Queen Anne's lace, the other a massive plant reaching up to 18 feet tall—but both harbor a sinister secret. Their sap contains chemicals that, when exposed to sunlight on your skin, cause painful burns, blisters, and potential scarring. As Monica explains, you don't even need to break the plant to be affected; simply brushing against it while hiking can transfer enough sap to cause serious reactions.
The conversation traces the fascinating history of these plants, from wild parsnip's journey from valuable food crop to aggressive invader, to giant hogweed's introduction as an ornamental curiosity from the Caucasus Mountains. Monica breaks down exactly what these plants look like, how to identify them, and the crucial steps to take if you suspect exposure—including the immediate soap-and-water wash that might save your skin from painful blistering.
For landowners and outdoor enthusiasts alike, this episode provides valuable insights on safely managing these plants, from proper protective equipment to the optimal timing for control efforts. As these invasive species continue spreading along roadsides, trails, and waterways, understanding their dangers becomes increasingly important for anyone who spends time outdoors.
Whether you're a hiker, gardener, or concerned homeowner, this conversation equips you with knowledge that could prevent painful encounters with these toxic invaders. Download iNaturalist or EDMaps to help identify suspicious plants, and visit invasivespeciescentre.ca for more comprehensive management guides and resources. Your awareness might just protect you and others from these deceptively dangerous plants.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hi everybody.
I'm Angelo Viola and I'm PeteBowman.
Now you might know us as thehosts of Canada's Favorite
Fishing Show, but now we'rehosting a podcast.
That's right.
Every Thursday, ang and I willbe right here in your ears
bringing you a brand new episodeof Outdoor Journal Radio.
Now, what are we going to talkabout for two hours every week?
Well, you know there's going tobe a lot of fishing.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
I knew exactly where those fish were going to be and
how to catch them, and they wereeasy to catch.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
Yeah, but it's not just a fishing show.
We're going to be talking topeople from all facets of the
outdoors From athletes.
Speaker 4 (00:35):
All the other guys would go golfing.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Me and Garth and Turk and all the Russians would go
fishing To scientists.
But now that we're reforestingand everything.
Speaker 3 (00:44):
It's the perfect transmission environment for
life.
Speaker 5 (00:47):
To chefs If any game isn't cooked properly, marinated
, you will taste it.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
And whoever else will pick up the phone Wherever you
are.
Outdoor Journal Radio seeks toanswer the questions and tell
the stories of all those whoenjoy being outside.
Find us on Spotify, applePodcasts or wherever you get
your podcasts.
Speaker 6 (01:15):
As the world gets louder and louder, the lessons
of our natural world becomeharder and harder to hear, but
they are still available tothose who know where to listen.
I'm Jerry Ouellette and I washonoured to serve as Ontario's
Minister of Natural Resources.
However, my journey into thewoods didn't come from politics.
(01:36):
Rather, it came from my time inthe bush and a mushroom.
In 2015, I was introduced tothe birch-hungry fungus known as
chaga, a tree conch withcenturies of medicinal
applications used by Indigenouspeoples all over the globe.
After nearly a decade ofharvest use, testimonials and
(01:59):
research, my skepticism hasfaded to obsession and I now
spend my life dedicated toimproving the lives of others
through natural means.
But that's not what the show isabout.
My pursuit of this strangemushroom and my passion for the
outdoors has brought me to theplaces and around the people
that are shaped by our naturalworld world.
(02:26):
On Outdoor Journal Radio'sUnder the Canopy podcast, I'm
going to take you along with meto see the places, meet the
people that will help you findyour outdoor passion and help
you live a life close to natureand under the canopy.
So join me today for anothergreat episode, and hopefully we
can inspire a few more people tolive their lives under the
canopy.
We can inspire a few morepeople to live their lives under
(02:47):
the canopy.
Well, as always, thanks to thelisteners all across Canada, the
States, the world, whether it'sSwitzerland, trinidad, tobago,
ghana, our friends down in theBahamas, where Josh is down with
Casey right now.
She's from the Bahamas.
There is down with Casey rightnow.
She's from the Bahamas.
(03:08):
There are those I didn't knowand you know, last week we had
Garrett, my son, garrett, andBrittany on and talking about
getting women into the outdoorsand outside and things like that
and talked about glamping.
Now, if you have any questionsor anything about that, just let
us know we can try and answerthem.
Get that stuff on.
I've got to tell you.
Yesterday I was in Halliburtonand thanks to Cheryl very much
(03:32):
for listening to the program.
We really appreciate hercomments and it's always good to
hear from our listeners.
And this morning I was out asusual with my Chocolate Lab
gunner and, of course, josh, myson, josh, and Casey are down in
the Bahamas where she'svisiting her parents and guess
who gets to sit with their dog?
(03:52):
So we're dog sitting with Bennyand Benny is a ball nut.
Well, I got to tell you he'sjust crazy.
And we walked down the parkwhere they, seeing a lot of
right now, is all-heal,self-heal.
It's in full bloom, the mint,the stinging nettles, all doing
well.
My mint patches are doing well.
I recently harvested my secondflush of reishi, which I've
(04:17):
started to use in a batch of teathat I'm making up.
And the rabbits, with this heatWe've got this heat wave going
on and I got to tell youyesterday I put some feed in the
bird feeder and when I come outback out there was a rabbit
sitting right there and I walkedbasically arm's length from it
(04:38):
and it just looked at me likewhere's my food?
We're talking wild rabbits here, cottontails, anyway.
So I had been doing some workin dehydrating some apples, so I
brought some apple core andpeelings out, put it out for it.
And the reason I had to go outand do the fill the bird feeder
was because the squirrels andchipmunks find a way to climb
(05:03):
the metal pole.
Chipmunks find a way to climbthe metal pole.
So this morning there I am outthere greasing the pole with
petroleum jelly and it keeps thechipmunks and the squirrels off
out of the feeder because it'skind of like a shepherd's what
do they call it?
A shepherd's hook, that it sitson the feeder but it's about
(05:24):
four or five feet off the groundand the squirrels and the
chipmunks climb up this metalpole to get over to the feeder
and then clean it out.
And in one night they'll cleanout the entire thing.
So this morning I'm out withpetroleum jelly making sure that
all the birds that come to thefeeder whether it's the
goldfinches, the chirping of thehouse, sparrows, the cardinals,
(05:47):
et cetera, et cetera that allcome up, get their fair share of
the food.
And you know we had a podcastwhere we did and I got to tell
you that Marlin app to listenfrom bird calls and tell you
what the bird calls.
I'm enjoying that so muchbecause everywhere I go now I
turn that on doesn't matterwhether I'm on a golf course and
(06:07):
I'm seeing, hearing.
Well, I'm hearing all kinds ofbird sounds and it's identifying
for me, which is a reallypleasure.
So if you haven't got that appit's called Merlin and it's from
the States, it's free, it's agreat one and it identifies bird
sounds.
I talked about it on one of theprevious podcasts, but today we
have Monica Litska.
(06:29):
Good morning, monica, and howare you?
Speaker 7 (06:32):
Good morning, Jerry.
I'm doing very, very well.
How are you?
Speaker 6 (06:37):
I'm okay, so did I get the last name right?
Did I pronounce?
Speaker 7 (06:40):
it right, you got it.
Speaker 6 (06:41):
Very good, you know, I believe.
Tell us about where.
Where are you from, monica?
Speaker 7 (06:48):
yeah, um, so I am, um , I work for a non-profit
organization called the invasivespecies center and the invasive
species center.
We mobilize action againstinvasive species that harm the
environment, economy and society, and so we're based in Sault
Ste Marie, so we do have a lotof staff there, but we also have
(07:11):
quite a few people like myselfworking remotely across the
province.
So, personally, I am located inthe Georgina area, which is
just an hour north of Toronto.
Speaker 6 (07:21):
Okay, yeah, because a lot of our international
listeners we kind of give them abackground of where people are
and so about an hour north ofToronto.
Okay, yeah, because a lot ofour international listeners we
kind of give them a backgroundof where people are and so about
an hour north of Toronto upnear Lake Simcoe, correct?
Speaker 7 (07:31):
That's correct.
Speaker 6 (07:32):
Yeah, very good.
Now, monica, the reason I askedyou to come on the show is
because I want to talk about andI'm hearing more and more about
it wild parsnip and gianthogweed.
So tell us, let's start withwild parsnip.
Tell us what is wild parsnipand giant hogweed.
So tell us, let's start withwild parsnip.
Tell us what is wild parsnipand what's happening with it.
And where did it come from, howdid it get here and how did the
(07:53):
whole wild parsnip start?
Speaker 7 (07:56):
Yeah, so with wild parsnip, and, if you don't mind,
I actually would like to startoff just explaining a little bit
more about the name itself.
Yes, yeah.
So I feel like just learningthe scientific name can really
show us a lot of.
It can help unravel thosecharacteristics of a plant and
(08:19):
give us a little bit about thehistory of the plant as well,
bit about the history of theplants as well.
And so with wild parsnip, itsscientific name is Pastienka
sativa and it has some ancientroots.
So the name comes from theLatin word pastus, which means
food, and sativa, meaningcultivated.
(08:40):
So what's fascinating is thatbefore potatoes, parsnip was a
staple food across Eurasia.
So it's known for its sweet andits starchy roots.
And, yeah, so wild parsniptoday, I think we kind of are
all familiar with it for adifferent reason.
(09:00):
It's known for its toxic effect, causing skin reactions.
So those reactions can be likeburns or blisters.
But the cultivated varietieswere less of a hazard, and I
think this might be because foodtypes were selected for lower
(09:20):
toxin levels or just becausepeople handle them in ways that
avoided the sap exposure, butwithout humans selecting it for
its you know, that tasty root itslowly started to just kind of
revert to a more aggressive,hardy, wild form, and that's
(09:42):
what we now know it to be wildparsnip.
So in a sense, it's gone fromthis domesticated plant almost
gone, feral, I'd like to say andit's become widespread and
invasive across North America.
Speaker 6 (09:56):
So is it something that people can eat the roots
just like regular parsnip?
Speaker 7 (10:03):
So, from what I understand, is that wild parsnip
, the root itself is a lot morefibrous because it's it's just
has been, you know, slowly kindof reverted to being more
aggressive, in the sense that ithas now focused more, a lot
(10:24):
more on seed production, forexample, and so it doesn't
necessarily and we're notcultivating it anymore to have
tasty roots.
So I myself I've never triedwild parsnip before.
Speaker 6 (10:40):
Perhaps there are some people who do forage for it
, but um, I did mention that itis a a toxic plant, so there
must be, um you have to handleit with with some special care
right, so, um now, so peopleobviously I I'm saying, I'm
suggesting should need it,because the toxins are must be
(11:02):
in the, in the, the root, likenormal parsnip, as well as the
stem and the leaves and theseeds.
Yes, noam.
Speaker 7 (11:10):
Yeah, I'm not too sure about the root itself, but
definitely the stem and theleaves, and I believe also the
toxic sap can also come out ofthe soft hairs that it has as
well, and so the plant.
It doesn't have to be brokenfor the sap to impact you.
(11:32):
Simply just kind of justbrushing up against it is enough
to cause harm.
Speaker 6 (11:39):
Oh, okay, so is it kind of like stinging nettle,
where it has these nettles wherethe formic acid in stinging
nettle would sting the same, or,do you know, is it a different
acid that causes problems withthe wild parsnip?
Speaker 7 (11:54):
Yeah, that's a really good question.
I've definitely been stung bystinging nettle before, and I
don't think wild parsnip causesthat same stinging effect.
It does have a chemical calledand forgive me if I pronounce
this incorrectly funicumorins,and so that's the chemical
(12:17):
that's found in the plant.
And so when the sap is exposedto sunlight, that's when it
causes the reaction, and thereaction that it causes is
called phytophotodermatitis.
So it shows up as a painfulrash that can turn into a burn
and then, in some more severecases, blistering and scarring.
(12:39):
My fiance, I'm pretty sure atone point he did get some wild
parsnip blistering and scarring.
He went off trail one time andhe came back with a painful rash
that later blistered, and so Isuspect that was likely wild
(13:02):
parsnip that he came in contactwith.
Speaker 6 (13:06):
Okay, so how does it compare, say, to poison ivy?
Because, I believe, do you nothave to have the juice from
poison ivy, so you have to breakthe leaves or the stems in
order to get the rash or theinfection, or however we want to
call the result of getting iton you.
Is it the same or is it alittle bit different?
Speaker 7 (13:25):
Yeah, that's a really good question, and I think
everyone will react differentlywhen it comes to poison ivy.
I think with poison ivy, evenjust brushing up against it
could be enough.
Some people can respond to that, and I'm going to use my fiance
as an example too, because heseems to always be running up
(13:48):
against all the hazardous plants.
But for him, for example, hejust has to brush up against it
and he gets a reaction from it,whereas me, I've been in poison
ivy tons of times before and Idon't get a reaction from it.
So everyone's going to reactdifferently.
(14:10):
I think with wild parsnip andeven giant hogweed, if you do
get that sap on you and it isexposed to sunlight, you will
get a reaction for sure.
Speaker 6 (14:21):
But boy, it sounds like your fiancé.
Your fiance is a guinea pig ofsome sort.
Go over there and let's see howyou react.
I'm trying to figure that out.
But so now if, if you cover itonce, you're exposed to wild
parsnip and the the whatever itis, whether it's just brushing
(14:42):
it up against it or the juicesfrom it, if you cover it because
it's not exposed to thesunlight, will that stop the
reaction or do you know?
Speaker 7 (14:53):
Yeah, so it does have to come in contact with
sunlight for it to cause thereaction.
Okay, and so you'll see thereaction happen within 24 to 48
hours of sun exposure.
Speaker 6 (15:12):
So once the sun has been exposed to it?
Because the reason I'm askingis I had somebody come and see
me and they asked about wildparsnip and that's what inspired
us to talk about it on the show.
And they were in Lindsay andtheir son had been exposed to
wild parsnip and they asked willthis cream, the skin cream,
(15:34):
have help with it?
And I said, to be honest, I'venever.
I don't know, I couldn't tellyou, I don't know the details
about wild parsnip.
Let me see if I can getsomebody on that has some
expertise in it and that's guesswhat that's you and that's me,
so I don't know.
So if the rash is out there is,what can you use?
Or can you cover it?
And will the?
Uh eliminating the sunlightstop it?
(15:55):
Uh from spreading, or does itspread?
Or how does it?
Because I think with poison ivythe same thing, um, once you
expose it and start to scratch,it'll spread throughout other
parts of your body and that'ssimply because of the.
My understanding is the fluidit gets relocated.
Is it the same with wildparsnip?
Or can you cover it and it'llstop the reaction or decrease it
(16:17):
even more, or do you know?
Speaker 7 (16:19):
Yeah, from what I have experienced with my family,
using my fiance as an example,um, it doesn't spread like
poison Ivy.
Um, essentially, once, um it ison the surface of your skin, it
will.
It will stay there.
Um, if you do get exposed to it, it is advised that you do
(16:40):
avoid the sun for at least 48hours.
Um, and then to seek medicalattention as needed.
In terms of creams, I'm not toofamiliar with what sort of
cream that you would use.
I think my always go-to hasalways just been aloe, but I
(17:01):
wouldn't take advice.
I'm not a trained medicalperson, so, yeah, I would get.
I would seek medical attentionfrom a from a doctor in that
regards.
Speaker 6 (17:12):
Right, so okay.
So how did wild parsnip gethere?
Has it always been here?
Is it something that's beenintroduced, or what?
Speaker 7 (17:20):
Yeah, so that's a that's a really great question.
And so and so, wild parsnip.
It is native plant to Europeand Asia and it was introduced
to Canada, the United States,south America, new Zealand and
it was very likely that it wasbrought over here to North
America by early Europeansettlers who grew it as a root
(17:41):
crop.
So yeah, so by 1943, there werereports of wild parsnip
actually growing in everyprovince, every Canadian
province.
But the first reports ofcultivated form in Canada it
dates back to the early 1600s.
So it's been around for quite awhile.
(18:02):
So it's been around for quite awhile In terms of its habitat.
It's often found in areas thatis exposed to full sunlight.
So I think that also kind ofhelps in its aid right.
When you get the sap on you,you're likely in an area maybe
(18:22):
with full sunlight already, butit can also grow in semi-shade
of forests and also riverbanks.
It really thrives in meadowsand grassland conditions or
environments.
As you can imagine, these arevery exposed areas so they can
tolerate a variety of soils, butthey cannot survive in flooded
environments.
Here in Ontario you're mostlygoing to be finding wild parsnip
(18:48):
growing in disturbed areas, soyou can think alongside
roadsides, trails, shorelines,forest clearings, just anywhere
where that suitable habitat is,even just along fence rows,
those edge habitats,agricultural fields.
It grows really well with a lotof perennial grasses as well.
Speaker 6 (19:13):
So what zones does it grow in?
Is it all Ontario?
Are you going to find it in theSioux, sault Ste Marie, in
Southern Ontario, in Thunder Bay, in Moosonee, whereabouts?
Speaker 7 (19:24):
are we finding it yeah, so you're gonna find it um
all, all across um canada andevery province except um I
believe it was none of it.
Speaker 6 (19:35):
Okay, yeah all right, so so you can find it
everywhere.
And how does it get spread?
Like?
Is it birds are consuming theseeds and then passing it and
moving it to different areas, ordo we know?
Speaker 7 (19:48):
Yeah, so it does spread through seed production,
and so seeds can move around bywind, water, animals or human
activity.
So seeds can hitch a ride onour hiking boots, for example.
So those seeds, it can getstuck in soil or clay, for
(20:09):
example, and that gets stuck tothe bottom of our boots.
It can get stuck in tires, soany ATVs, for example, or it can
just get moved around by ourequipment.
So mowing, for example, ormachinery is another means of
spread.
Speaker 6 (20:29):
Yeah, I know One of my Chocolate Lab's buddies,
cooper, one of his owners wasworking at a golf course
apparently and they didn't knowthat they had wild parsnip there
.
Know that they had wild parsnipthere and he was sent out to
use a whippersnapper like atrimmer and just got covered all
(20:51):
over his face and everywherefrom it.
So it does spread around.
Now my understanding is,although I haven't seen it and I
haven't seen a lot ofinformation about it, it kind of
looks like Queen Anne's lacefor people that know what Queen
Anne's lace look like.
Is that correct?
Speaker 7 (21:07):
Yeah.
So, yeah, it does have a coupleof different key
characteristics.
So wild parsnip it's sometimesalso referred to as yellow
parsnip, and that yellow part tothe name is helpful because it
does have yellow flowers.
(21:28):
So Queen Anne's lace has yellowflower yeah, sorry, not yellow
white flowers.
Yes, and lace has yellow floweryeah, sorry, not yellow White
flowers yes, and so wild parsnip.
It reaches heights of, I'd say,between four to five feet tall.
It has a light green and deeplygrooved hollow stem, and that
(21:49):
is one of its keycharacteristics.
It's deeply grooved hollow stem.
It has very few white hairs andthe leaves are also another key
identifying feature.
It resembles celery.
Speaker 6 (22:02):
Oh, so it looks like celery.
The stem looks like celery, theleaves do.
Oh, the leaves do so.
And yeah, because there's otherstuff like do you know what
lavage is?
Speaker 7 (22:14):
Oh, I do.
Yeah, I think I had it growingin my garden last year.
Speaker 6 (22:20):
Yeah, I know I have lavage growing in mine and it
kind of looks like the leaves onlavage look like celery as well
and the head of lavage.
Although lavage will get quitetall Mine are probably seven
feet tall right now but the headof it kind of looks like Queen
Anne's lace almost as well onceit's seeded and gone to seed.
(22:42):
But yeah, so same kind ofleaves as celery or lavage for
those that know lavage.
So, monica, how does one, ifyou come across it, what do you
do?
How do you get rid of it?
Like, how do we stop ordecrease the spread as much as
possible?
Speaker 7 (23:01):
Yeah, and so I think you touched on a really
important point, and that'sprevention.
So, when it comes to invasivespecies, prevention is
everything.
So it's easier to stop a plantfrom taking hold than it is to
remove it and manage it once itgets established.
So that means monitoring andreporting invasive species and
(23:25):
also understanding what theylook like.
So we know that there areinvasive species that have
lookalikes, right.
So, while it's parsnip, lookslike Queen Anne's lace, as you
mentioned, even giant hogweedthey all look very, very similar
.
So it's really important thatwe learn to understand what
(23:49):
invasive species look like,especially before we decide to
remove it or create anymanagement plan for it.
And then I also mentionedearlier, too, about seeds
getting stuck in your boots.
So helping to prevent thespread of invasive species by
cleaning your boots or gearafter you walk the trail, for
(24:12):
example, that does go a verylong way in helping to reduce
any spread.
And so, yeah, and if you'reinvolved in any restoration work
as well, planting nativespecies to cover up that bare
soil, that can also make a bigdifference.
Speaker 6 (24:32):
Yeah, yeah, so, monica so one of it is.
So you mentioned your fiancegoing and you sending him in.
Go over there.
Let's see how you react.
How can you tell?
What does the rash look like orwhat is it identified by,
because all of a sudden you geta rash.
(24:52):
Is it something?
Is it a burning sensation?
Is it what?
Is it something specific?
Is there some way to identifyor can you tell?
Or is that something we needmedical people to give us?
Speaker 7 (25:02):
a breakdown on.
I think there's some photosonline that you can search up.
They're not the prettiestphotos so I give some caution if
you are to look at what thatlooks like.
But yeah, so typically you'regoing to develop a painful rash
(25:22):
that's going to feel almost likea burn and then over a couple
of days, that can turn into ablister and then, once that
blistering is done, it doessometimes scar or discolor your
skin, right, but I mean thatscarring my fiance.
(25:43):
It's been a couple of years nowand he does not have that
scarring anymore.
Speaker 6 (25:48):
Okay.
So it's kind of a burning rashsensation.
It's not like an itchy one or astinging or a burning sensation
.
Speaker 7 (25:56):
I think so.
It's more of a burningsensation.
I think the itching would comeafterwards, once it's starting
to heal.
I think that's just the normal.
Part of the healing process iswhen you start to feel that itch
.
But it wouldn direct um adirect cause that you would feel
(26:18):
right away right now.
Speaker 6 (26:20):
Um, there used to be a forester that uh handled the
um, the lindsey peterboroughdistrict and bob was his name,
bless his soul.
And bob used to have uhster'scompanies go in and do logging
in quite frankly, it was theGanaraska and a lot of times the
(26:42):
area wouldn't be cleaned up.
So you know, if there isn't ahalf decent truckload size, they
end up leaving some of the logsthere.
And so I'd ask Bob, you know,and I'd help him out.
He got a benefit and I got abenefit, so I'd take a clean up
logs and one of the patches Igot into was late fall, early
(27:03):
winter, and it was.
These were some oak logs andthey weren't number one stick
which is used for veneer orthings like that.
It was mostly smaller pieces,four or five feet long, anyways.
So I was handling all these anda day or so later I noticed I
(27:25):
was covered in poison ivy.
Is this the same sort of thingthat, if so, if something else
has been exposed to it, that youcan pick it up off a log or
branches or stuff like that, orwould you know?
Speaker 7 (27:39):
Hmm, yeah, I'm not too sure about that.
I don't know how long the sapwould last on a surface.
I'm not too sure.
Speaker 6 (27:48):
Yeah, Now how about pets?
I know what about my chocolatelab.
Can he get exposed to it in thesame way people do?
Does it affect them the same?
And if my pet gets exposed, canhe pass it on to me?
Speaker 7 (28:03):
Yeah.
So that's all really goodquestions, I think with.
I'm not too sure about pets butI know with agricultural
livestock it does impact them,so the chemical compounds, when
ingested it can cause a coupleof problems.
(28:25):
So the animal's not able to puton weight and I think it will
still cause some infertilityissues as well.
But that's ingestion right.
So I'm not too I haven't lookedinto in terms of contact with
pets, but I think you know it'sbetter to be safe than sorry.
(28:46):
So if you are, if you do see awild parsnip or a plant that
you're not too sure about, youknow, just take some caution
where your pet goes into ordecides to explore and then
maybe after a walk just to wipethem down.
Speaker 3 (29:09):
Great back in 2016, frank and I had a vision to
amass the single largestdatabase of muskie angling
education material anywhere inthe world.
Our dream was to harness theknowledge of this amazing
community and share it withpassionate anglers just like you
(29:30):
thus the ugly pike podcast wasborn and quickly grew to become
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Speaker 5 (29:38):
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Hey, thanks for listening Backto the episode.
So, monica, so if, for example,you happen to be into an area
where you find out afterwards,or whatever, there's wild
parsnip there and you thinkyou've been exposed to it, but
you haven't really had the sunissue, is it something that you
(34:06):
can wash off with soap and waterto stop it from affecting you?
Speaker 7 (34:10):
Yep, you got it Soap and cool water.
Speaker 6 (34:14):
Okay, and that'll eliminate it from being active
if it hasn't been activated bythe sun already.
Yes that's correct, okay, sowhere's a good site that people
can go to to identify wildparsnips so they can get a look
at it, so they know what we'retalking about?
Speaker 7 (34:31):
Yeah, so you can visit our website at
invasivespeciecenterca or youcan also use tools like apps.
So, for example, inaturalist.
That is a fantastic app whereyou can identify and report
(34:53):
invasive species.
Edmaps is also anotherfantastic app that you can
report your invasive species to.
Both Edmaps and iNaturalistthey're connected and so
whatever report that you post ineither or it will show up, and
so two fantastic apps that Ihighly recommend anybody to
(35:17):
check out.
It's great if you're juststarting to learn what invasive
species is, because you simplysnap a photo and then it's going
to bring up all the options ofwhat it thinks that picture is
and then it's going to recordthose results and that data is
very useful for researchers andscientists.
(35:38):
Everybody.
We look at that data.
We use that as data.
Um another means you can alsocall into the Ontario invading
species awareness program.
So I know this is this Ontariobase um, but aside from um, the
phone number, um, going to ourwebsite would be a good start.
Speaker 6 (36:00):
Right, okay.
So what else?
Anything else that you can tellus about wild parsnip and how
to avoid it, or do you dig itout?
Is that one of the key ways?
Speaker 7 (36:11):
Yeah.
So in terms of management, I dowant to say with management,
something to consider is thatoftentimes it is a long-term
commitment and you also do needa clear plan before you go into
it.
So just a couple of tips that Iwould like to share.
(36:32):
If you do have a population, soyou want to first just focus on
those satellite populations, sothose populations that exist
outside of the main population,because if you tackle that first
, you're going to have a goodchance of stopping it from
spreading any further.
And then also, too, you want totarget areas where the plant
(36:56):
poses the most risk.
So near trails maybe you haveit in your backyard in parks or
along water courseways, soanywhere where people, or even
pets, they can come in contactwith it.
Springtime, that is your bestwindow for control, especially
in its early stages, and you canhand pull, using gloves, of
(37:22):
course, or dig out the plantusing a spade.
And then, if you are dealingwith larger populations, it
would be pretty difficult to digout those populations.
So oftentimes the managementrecommendation is to use a
herbicide treatment and, if youhave the means, after you have
(37:43):
done the removal, covering thesite with a thick layer of mulch
.
I've heard that can also helpto stop the seeds from
germinating.
And then too, of course, thevery last thing is you want to
follow up with the site and youalso want to replant the area
with native species, becausethat will help you keep the site
(38:05):
stable and to help to preventregrowth.
Speaker 6 (38:09):
So is there a specific native species?
Like I know a lot of peoplewill say, you know you overseed
with grass to choke out otherplants.
Is that the same sort of thingwith wild parsnip?
You can try and do.
Speaker 7 (38:21):
Yeah, yeah, so you can use a type of cover crops or
you can also just plantdirectly into the ground.
It depends on your location andwhat's native to your area, and
also your site condition aswell.
Um, so if you're working with awetter site, for example,
compared to a meadow site, um,so those are all things that you
(38:44):
have to take into considerationwhen you do decide to replant
the area.
Um, the other consideration isthat, um, if you are going in
planting, then you want to markthat plant, know where you put
that plant, because you're goingto want to follow up regularly
(39:05):
to ensure that there's nore-sprouts and you don't want to
accidentally remove what youjust planted by accident.
So you want to know where youput your plants.
Speaker 6 (39:18):
Now, does wild parsnip?
Does it propagate throughrhizomes as well?
So you'd have shoots that areoffshoots and then shoot up.
Or is it just through seed ordo you know?
Speaker 7 (39:27):
Just the seed.
Speaker 6 (39:28):
Okay, and so one thing is then is the other thing
is if you get people who aretrying to manage it so they dig
it up, they follow all theprotocols, then what do they do
with it afterwards?
Because a lot of people justsay, oh, just put it inside the
yard waste bag and put it out atthe curb, but that's not what
you want to do, right?
Speaker 7 (39:49):
Exactly.
Very good point.
So with wild parsnip, or evengiant hogweed too, you never
want to burn or compost it.
If you do burn it, you do riskexposing the sap into the air,
and we don't want that.
You also never want to dump theplant material or just any
(40:12):
invasive plant material for thatmatter into natural areas, so
it does still have a chance toreseed, if you did collect some
seeds.
So instead you want to seal theplant material in a black
plastic bag and then leave itout in the sun for at least two
weeks to fully solarize and dryout, and then you can dispose of
(40:36):
them with your regularhousehold garbage that just
simply goes to landfill.
Speaker 6 (40:42):
Okay, interesting.
Well, that's certainly one ofthe key areas that I wanted to
talk about was wild parsnip,because I don't really have a
lot of exposure or a lot ofindividuals, but it just started
coming up and having that itwas a youth and then starting
asking and my mother telling meabout there's notification on
(41:02):
her hiking, her walking trailsthat be cautious because there's
wild parsnip in the area, andso I thought I'd have somebody
on.
But the other one is is isgiant hogweed.
Now let's go down the sameroute with that.
Uh, so did you send yourfiancee out to check anywhere
for?
hogweed no um, yeah, so.
(41:25):
So what does giant hogweed looklike and how did it get here,
or where is it from?
Speaker 7 (41:30):
yeah, yeah, so, um, yeah, giant, giant hogweed is
one of those plants that Icaution everyone against.
I've heard that giant hogweedthat will cause more severe
reaction than wild parsnip, forexample, and so, of course, I
mean two species that you wantto be aware of, but, like wild
(41:54):
parsnip, I'd like to just maybejust talk about the name, the
scientific name, because itgives us some clues into what
giant hogweed looks like, and Ifind it quite fascinating myself
.
And so the name giant hogweed,a scientific name, is Heracleum
manzigatsinum, and it has rootsgoing back over 2,000 years and
(42:19):
it connects to Hercules, theGreek hero that I think we all
know, and it makes sense whenyou see the plant's massive size
.
And so this is what I foundpretty interesting.
And so this is what I foundpretty interesting.
So the genius name Heracleion,that was mentioned by a
(42:41):
gentleman named Theophrastus,and he was a student of
Aristotle and he was known asthe father of botany, and he
described a healing plant calledPenicillia Heracleion, and that
translates to Hercules, allHealer.
So many scholars actuallybelieve that this refers to a
member of the Heracleion group,which is the same genus that
(43:04):
includes giant hogweed.
So this shows that humans haverecognized and recorded these
plants since ancient Greece,which to me is really, really
fascinating, and I think also tothe second.
The species name is also prettyfascinating as well.
So the species name isMantigetsina, and so that honors
(43:29):
Paolo Mantigessa, and he was an18th century Italian scientist
who really dreamed up earlyideas of space travel, credit
cards, air conditioning and, Ithink, even AI as well, and so
the plant was officially namedin 1890 by botanists Samir and
(43:54):
Lavier, and they're essentiallythey're naming it in tribute to
Paolo Mantegazza, and so again,this kind of blends, this
ancient botanical tradition, Ithink, with modern scientific
recognition, and also too, forme I find it pretty poetic
(44:14):
because Paolo was this visionarythinker, and giant hogweed is
also very present here in thefuture, so along with all of his
ideas that he thought about atthat time, right.
So he was thinking very earlyon of credit cards and air
conditioning, maybe, perhapseven poisonous plants as well.
Speaker 6 (44:40):
Interesting.
So okay, so you mentioned aboutancient Greece and these sort
of historic.
How did it get to North Americathen?
Do we know?
Speaker 7 (44:50):
Yeah, yes, so we do know.
So the 19th century it wasintroduced to parts of Europe
first, and that was just out ofornamental curiosity and then
since then it has just quicklyspread and established itself.
In fact, it is still on displayat the Alan Wick Poison Garden
(45:12):
in Northumberland, england.
So I find that prettyfascinating if you're ever in
that area, and yeah, it's apoison garden, which is really
really neat in my mind.
But yeah, so that's how it gothere.
It's native range, it's gianthogweed reminds me almost of a
(45:37):
sleeping giant.
So it originates in thesub-alpine regions of western
Cacasa Mountains and that formsa natural boundary between
Europe and Asia.
Speaker 6 (45:47):
Okay, so it was kind of in.
Yeah, I find it interestingthat a lot of these things were
ornamental curiosity youmentioned about and things like
that, that it looked like andwhere it is.
But you know how some of thesethings get into North America in
the first place, like purpleloosestrife, coming in as an
(46:10):
ornamental plant that was usedby you know people for plant
displays because of the purple,and now all of a sudden we have
to deal with this.
So what does it look like?
And kind of give us adescription of giant hogweed.
Speaker 7 (46:25):
Yeah, so giant hogweed.
It's a massive, striking plant,and when I say massive I really
mean that it's massive.
So it can grow up to fivemeters tall, so that's 18 feet.
It has thick, hollow green stemthat is blotched with purple
spots.
Sometimes those spots arealmost like streaks, and it's
(46:48):
covered in very coarse whitehairs.
So if you think of, like hisname suggests, hogweed, so hog,
you can think of hogs havingvery coarse hair.
That's what it looks like.
And so that stem, that purpleblotching on the stem and the
coarse white hairs, that is itskey ID feature of the plant.
(47:12):
And another key ID feature ofit is also its leaves.
So they're huge, they'remassive, they can be over a
meter wide and they're deeplylobed and jagged.
It's almost like a maple leafon a massive scale and to me the
leaves take on this angryappearance.
(47:34):
Another identifying feature isthat giant hogweed it typically
takes two to five years toflower.
So when it flowers it flowersfrom late June to July and it
has these large umbrella-shapedclusters of small white flowers.
It can reach up to a meteracross and then after flowering
(48:00):
it produces its seeds.
So one plant it can produceover I think it's 10,000 wing
seeds, and that easily spreadsby wind, short distances or by
water.
In fact, it can actually travelfor up to three days on water
and then, after it producesseeds, it dies.
Speaker 6 (48:21):
Really so it dies.
So if you come across it, Iguess if the seed pods are
removed or however the seedcomes out, then the plant will
normally die off regardless, orif you remove, that will it
(48:43):
depends when you remove it.
Speaker 7 (48:45):
So in the management guide for giant hogweed it does
mention that if you do removethe seed head too early, then
you risk the plant trying toregrow those seed heads even
more aggressively, even moreaggressively.
If you try to remove it alittle too late, then you risk
(49:12):
the seeds going, falling out andgerminating.
But essentially, yeah, soessentially once the plant is
ready to flower once it does, itwill die.
Speaker 6 (49:26):
Okay, so now the same thing.
Then what does the uh reactionto and how is the reaction?
Like you mentioned, just uh,brushing against wild parsnip is
the same for giant hogweed, oris it different there?
Speaker 7 (49:39):
yep, it's the same.
They both have that samechemical that I mentioned
earlier.
Um, it's the same thing.
It's going to cause aphytophotodermatitis effect.
With giant hogweed theblistering is a lot more severe.
I think with wild parsnip Icould be wrong here it may not
(50:04):
always lead to a blister, justdepending on how severe it is.
But with giant hogweed it willlead to a blister, and so they
typically say that giant hogweedit's a lot more severe.
Speaker 6 (50:17):
Okay, and so it's the same blistering that's caused
by exposure to the sun again,correct?
Speaker 7 (50:24):
Yes, that's correct.
Speaker 6 (50:25):
And so the same thing there.
If you get exposure to it andyou haven't been exposed to the
sun.
Again, correct?
Yes, that's correct.
And so the same thing there.
If you get exposure to it andyou haven't been exposed to the
sun, you can wash it off withsoap and water.
Yep, that's correct.
Okay and so?
And now?
What's the best way becausethis thing is so large and the
leaves are so huge to try andmanage it?
It's not like parsnip where youcan kind of contain it sort of
thing, correct?
(50:46):
Or how do we deal with that?
Speaker 7 (50:48):
Yeah, so it's very similar to wild parsnip.
It's spring is your best friendhere.
That's the best window forcontrol because that's when all
plants are just starting to comeup, right?
So as it just starts to come up, it's still going to be, the
leaves are still going to bereally, really small, and so
(51:09):
that's your time.
That's your best time tocontrol it, because if you wait
a little too long and when thoseleaves massive leaves appear,
then the risk of you knowgetting the sap on you and other
management control options,like digging out that, becomes a
lot less feasible.
So spring is your best time andyou can also dig it out as well
(51:35):
.
But with giant hogweed or wildparsnip, it's very important
that you are being mindful ofyour management and making sure
that you are wearing the properPPE, so personal protection
equipment.
Speaker 4 (51:51):
Right.
Speaker 6 (51:53):
So with your clothes?
I didn't talk about that withparsnip, but the same thing here
.
So if you get it on, if you'rein and happen to be exposed to
it and it's on your clothes, itcan probably transfer to the
person and you just wash that indetergent and that'll clear it
up.
Speaker 7 (52:09):
Yes, yes, it will Okay.
Speaker 6 (52:12):
Okay, and the same thing.
Now, monica, where does onefind the sites to identify giant
hogweed and are municipalitiesaware about it?
And I know there's somenotification I've seen on some
of the trails beware of gianthogweed.
Or now I'm hearing wild parsnip.
Same thing there.
What?
Speaker 7 (52:29):
are the sites to identify.
Yeah, exactly so, with both wildparsnip and giant hogweed.
I didn't mention this yet, butwe do have a best management
guide that is available on ourwebsite, including um fact
sheets as well, and so, um,those are fantastic resources
(52:51):
that I encourage anyone to lookup and uh become familiar with,
especially, if you do, if you dohave some um other species on
your property, then it'll giveyou the proper way to management
.
It goes into a lot more detailthan what I gave today.
Using those exact same tools iswhere you can report it or try
(53:14):
to identify it, so it'siNaturalist or EdMaps.
And, in terms of municipalities, so both giant hogweed and wild
parsnip, they are classified asa noxious weed under the
Ontario Weed Control Act, and so, in addition to this provincial
(53:37):
legislation, manymunicipalities, they have their
own property standards orcommunity bylaws that addresses
the maintenance of vegetation,which includes invasive plants,
and so these local bylaws thatcan require property owners, for
example, to remove noxiousweeds that present this risk to
(54:00):
public safety or just theenjoyment of shared spaces.
But I'd say that mostmunicipalities, they are
familiar with the bylaws andthey are familiar with giant
hogweed and wild parsnip as wellbecause of its risk that it
poses to public health.
Speaker 6 (54:21):
All right.
So, monica, I recall I hadsomebody I want to talk about
Phragmites.
Is there programs available tothe municipalities to try and
deal with it in the same waythat there is with Phragmites?
Speaker 7 (54:33):
Yeah, that's a really good question.
I'm not too familiar with anyother program aside from the one
that's the Invasive SpeciesCenter.
What we offer from the onethat's the invasive species
center, what we offer right, um.
So we do offer a um, a grantthat helps to helps
municipalities, conservationauthorities um address invasive
(54:54):
species um, and so that'ssomething that I would encourage
um anyone to to check out um.
But aside from that one, yeah,I'm not too familiar with
anything else.
Usually the resources that ittakes for municipalities, for
example, to manage wild parsnipor giant hogweed, that, just
(55:17):
from what I understand, justcomes out of their own budget
and usually that kind of fallsinto forest, forestry and within
forestry there's invasivespecies management.
Speaker 6 (55:30):
So you know, and with all the things happening around
the world, I often wonder ifthings like giant hogweed and
wild parsnips are used asmilitary deterrents for ground
troops.
You know, because all of asudden, okay, that would
certainly deter a lot of groupsif all of a sudden they
developed all these rashes andeverything else from these
(55:53):
plants.
And I don't know if you know,because it certainly surprises
me that they show up all thetime.
And of course there's thewonder of if other jurisdictions
impact other locations withaccidental introductions, of
whether it's certain speciesthat deplete.
(56:15):
Well, look what happened withthe emerald ash borer beetle and
the ash trees in Ontario andacross Canada, and the same
thing there.
So you know it.
Just, it makes me wondersometimes just how these things
all come to be, and that's why Ikind of trace back the how did
it come in?
What was the cause and thatsort of reason to figure that
(56:36):
sort of stuff out?
But who knows Now, monica, whatother ones we talked about wild
parsnip and giant hogweed whatother sort of ones are we going
to hear about next?
Do you think what other onesare out there maybe?
Speaker 7 (56:50):
Yeah, so in terms of keeping to the same family, so
they're actually all part of thecarrot family, we do have also
a native species called cowparsnip.
Okay, have also a native speciescalled cow parsnip, and so cow
parsnip it does also have atoxic impact, but that's usually
(57:14):
considered just moderatecompared to wild parsnip and
giant hogweed.
Cow parsnip, because it is ournative species, it has the white
flower that giant hogweed has.
So I think a lot of people doget confused with cow parsnip
and giant hogweed.
(57:35):
But cow parsnip it doesn't havethose purple blotches that I
mentioned at the beginning alongits stem, mentioned at the
beginning along its stem.
So it might have a purple tinge, but it's not very distinct
purple blotches and it also hasvery fine white, soft hairs, so
not coarse hog-like hairs thatgiant hogweed has.
(57:59):
And it's also a lot smaller inheight as well.
It's also a lot smaller inheight as well.
So for height it grows up to.
I believe it's two and a halfmeters high.
So it's a little bit tallerthan wild parsnip, but a lot
less.
It's shorter than giant hogweed.
Speaker 6 (58:22):
So you said it's native species, though, correct?
Speaker 7 (58:24):
Yes, it is a native species.
Okay, and so what's the impactwith this one?
Is it the same?
You get the rashes once exposedto the sun.
Yep, yep.
I'm not too sure about theblisters, though I think
blisters that's more of a severeimpact that you would more so
find with wild parsnip and gianthogweed.
That you would more so findwith wild parsnip and giant
hogweed.
Speaker 6 (58:45):
And so why is this one called cow parsnip?
Speaker 7 (58:49):
Yeah, that's a good question.
I haven't looked into why it'scalled cow parsnip.
I suspect that it has somethingto do maybe with cows, it's my
(59:10):
guess, but um, perhaps.
Um, how?
I don't know if thisinformation is correct or not,
but um, it might taint cow'smilk.
Um, again, I don't know if I'mremembering that correctly.
Um, but that is something thatI have to look into.
Speaker 6 (59:23):
Yeah, no problem, I just wondered because you know
we're hearing about all theseand, quite frankly, I think I
briefly heard about wild parsnipbut then all of a sudden my
mother's talking about wildparsnip signs by her walking
trails to watch out for, andthen somebody exposed to it, and
then I find out that at a golfcourse one of the people I know
(59:44):
gets completely covered to it.
And then I find out that, youknow, at a golf course you know
one of the people I know it getscompletely covered in it, and
so all these sort of things.
And yeah, it's just kind ofshocking to see and the impact
that's out there and you know,and so the more that people know
about it, the more informationthat they'll have, the better
they can deal with it, right.
Speaker 7 (01:00:02):
Exactly.
Speaker 6 (01:00:03):
Yep.
So, monica, how can people getin touch with you or find out
more information about all thosenot so nice things that we just
finished talking about?
Speaker 7 (01:00:12):
Yeah, so please visit our website, so
invasivespeciescentreca throughthe contact page there as well.
If you just send an email in orif you call in, you can also
reach me.
So if you have any furtherquestions about these species,
(01:00:34):
please feel welcome to reach outto the Invasive Species Centre,
and I'd be happy to chat moreabout it.
Speaker 6 (01:00:41):
Yeah, and for any of those interested, you're
probably taking donations foryour fiancé for personal
protection equipment.
Speaker 7 (01:00:48):
So when?
Speaker 6 (01:00:48):
you send him out that he's protected in the future.
Speaker 7 (01:00:52):
Thank you.
Thank you, terry, for lookingafter him, no problem.
Speaker 6 (01:00:56):
So this is just something a little bit different
that people are learning aboutthings that are happening out
there under the canopy, and wereally appreciate you taking the
time, monica, to be on ourprogram.
Thanks again.
Speaker 7 (01:01:08):
Thank you so much it was.
It was a joy, no problem.
Speaker 2 (01:01:31):
How did a small-town sheet metal mechanic come to
build one of Canada's mosticonic fishing lodges?
I'm your host, steve Nitzwicky,and you'll find out about that
and a whole lot more on theOutdoor Journal Radio Network's
newest podcast, diaries of aLodge Owner.
But this podcast will be morethan that.
Every week on Diaries of aLodge Owner, I'm going to
(01:01:54):
introduce you to a ton of greatpeople, share their stories of
our trials, tribulations andinspirations, learn and have
plenty of laughs along the way.
Speaker 1 (01:02:05):
Meanwhile we're sitting there bobbing along
trying to figure out how tocatch a bass and we both decided
one day we were going to be ontelevision doing a fishing show.
Speaker 2 (01:02:15):
My hands get sore a little bit when I'm reeling in
all those bass in the summertime, but that might be for more
fishing than it was punching youso confidently.
Speaker 6 (01:02:24):
You said hey.
Speaker 2 (01:02:24):
Pat, have you ever eaten a drum?
Find Diaries of a Lodge Ownernow on Spotify, apple Podcasts
or wherever you get your podcast.
Hi everybody.
I'm Angelo Viola and I'm PeteBowman.
Now you might know us as thehosts of Canada's Favorite
Fishing Show, but now we'rehosting a podcast.
That's right.
Every Thursday, ang and I willbe right here in your ears
bringing you a brand new episodeof Outdoor Journal Radio.
Now, what are we going to talkabout for two hours every week?
Well, you know there's going tobe a lot of fishing.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
I knew exactly where those fish were going to be and
how to catch them, and they wereeasy to catch.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
Yeah, but it's not just a fishing show.
We're going to be talking topeople from all facets of the
outdoors From athletes.
Speaker 4 (00:35):
All the other guys would go golfing.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Me and Garth and Turk and all the Russians would go
fishing To scientists.
But now that we're reforestingand everything.
Speaker 3 (00:44):
It's the perfect transmission environment for
life.
Speaker 5 (00:47):
To chefs If any game isn't cooked properly, marinated
, you will taste it.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
And whoever else will pick up the phone Wherever you
are.
Outdoor Journal Radio seeks toanswer the questions and tell
the stories of all those whoenjoy being outside.
Find us on Spotify, applePodcasts or wherever you get
your podcasts.
Speaker 6 (01:15):
As the world gets louder and louder, the lessons
of our natural world becomeharder and harder to hear, but
they are still available tothose who know where to listen.
I'm Jerry Ouellette and I washonoured to serve as Ontario's
Minister of Natural Resources.
However, my journey into thewoods didn't come from politics.
(01:36):
Rather, it came from my time inthe bush and a mushroom.
In 2015, I was introduced tothe birch-hungry fungus known as
chaga, a tree conch withcenturies of medicinal
applications used by Indigenouspeoples all over the globe.
After nearly a decade ofharvest use, testimonials and
(01:59):
research, my skepticism hasfaded to obsession and I now
spend my life dedicated toimproving the lives of others
through natural means.
But that's not what the show isabout.
My pursuit of this strangemushroom and my passion for the
outdoors has brought me to theplaces and around the people
that are shaped by our naturalworld world.
(02:26):
On Outdoor Journal Radio'sUnder the Canopy podcast, I'm
going to take you along with meto see the places, meet the
people that will help you findyour outdoor passion and help
you live a life close to natureand under the canopy.
So join me today for anothergreat episode, and hopefully we
can inspire a few more people tolive their lives under the
canopy.
We can inspire a few morepeople to live their lives under
(02:47):
the canopy.
Well, as always, thanks to thelisteners all across Canada, the
States, the world, whether it'sSwitzerland, trinidad, tobago,
ghana, our friends down in theBahamas, where Josh is down with
Casey right now.
She's from the Bahamas.
There is down with Casey rightnow.
She's from the Bahamas.
(03:08):
There are those I didn't knowand you know, last week we had
Garrett, my son, garrett, andBrittany on and talking about
getting women into the outdoorsand outside and things like that
and talked about glamping.
Now, if you have any questionsor anything about that, just let
us know we can try and answerthem.
Get that stuff on.
I've got to tell you.
Yesterday I was in Halliburtonand thanks to Cheryl very much
(03:32):
for listening to the program.
We really appreciate hercomments and it's always good to
hear from our listeners.
And this morning I was out asusual with my Chocolate Lab
gunner and, of course, josh, myson, josh, and Casey are down in
the Bahamas where she'svisiting her parents and guess
who gets to sit with their dog?
(03:52):
So we're dog sitting with Bennyand Benny is a ball nut.
Well, I got to tell you he'sjust crazy.
And we walked down the parkwhere they, seeing a lot of
right now, is all-heal,self-heal.
It's in full bloom, the mint,the stinging nettles, all doing
well.
My mint patches are doing well.
I recently harvested my secondflush of reishi, which I've
(04:17):
started to use in a batch of teathat I'm making up.
And the rabbits, with this heatWe've got this heat wave going
on and I got to tell youyesterday I put some feed in the
bird feeder and when I come outback out there was a rabbit
sitting right there and I walkedbasically arm's length from it
(04:38):
and it just looked at me likewhere's my food?
We're talking wild rabbits here, cottontails, anyway.
So I had been doing some workin dehydrating some apples, so I
brought some apple core andpeelings out, put it out for it.
And the reason I had to go outand do the fill the bird feeder
was because the squirrels andchipmunks find a way to climb
(05:03):
the metal pole.
Chipmunks find a way to climbthe metal pole.
So this morning there I am outthere greasing the pole with
petroleum jelly and it keeps thechipmunks and the squirrels off
out of the feeder because it'skind of like a shepherd's what
do they call it?
A shepherd's hook, that it sitson the feeder but it's about
(05:24):
four or five feet off the groundand the squirrels and the
chipmunks climb up this metalpole to get over to the feeder
and then clean it out.
And in one night they'll cleanout the entire thing.
So this morning I'm out withpetroleum jelly making sure that
all the birds that come to thefeeder whether it's the
goldfinches, the chirping of thehouse, sparrows, the cardinals,
(05:47):
et cetera, et cetera that allcome up, get their fair share of
the food.
And you know we had a podcastwhere we did and I got to tell
you that Marlin app to listenfrom bird calls and tell you
what the bird calls.
I'm enjoying that so muchbecause everywhere I go now I
turn that on doesn't matterwhether I'm on a golf course and
(06:07):
I'm seeing, hearing.
Well, I'm hearing all kinds ofbird sounds and it's identifying
for me, which is a reallypleasure.
So if you haven't got that appit's called Merlin and it's from
the States, it's free, it's agreat one and it identifies bird
sounds.
I talked about it on one of theprevious podcasts, but today we
have Monica Litska.
(06:29):
Good morning, monica, and howare you?
Speaker 7 (06:32):
Good morning, Jerry.
I'm doing very, very well.
How are you?
Speaker 6 (06:37):
I'm okay, so did I get the last name right?
Did I pronounce?
Speaker 7 (06:40):
it right, you got it.
Speaker 6 (06:41):
Very good, you know, I believe.
Tell us about where.
Where are you from, monica?
Speaker 7 (06:48):
yeah, um, so I am, um , I work for a non-profit
organization called the invasivespecies center and the invasive
species center.
We mobilize action againstinvasive species that harm the
environment, economy and society, and so we're based in Sault
Ste Marie, so we do have a lotof staff there, but we also have
(07:11):
quite a few people like myselfworking remotely across the
province.
So, personally, I am located inthe Georgina area, which is
just an hour north of Toronto.
Speaker 6 (07:21):
Okay, yeah, because a lot of our international
listeners we kind of give them abackground of where people are
and so about an hour north ofToronto.
Okay, yeah, because a lot ofour international listeners we
kind of give them a backgroundof where people are and so about
an hour north of Toronto upnear Lake Simcoe, correct?
Speaker 7 (07:31):
That's correct.
Speaker 6 (07:32):
Yeah, very good.
Now, monica, the reason I askedyou to come on the show is
because I want to talk about andI'm hearing more and more about
it wild parsnip and gianthogweed.
So tell us, let's start withwild parsnip.
Tell us what is wild parsnipand giant hogweed.
So tell us, let's start withwild parsnip.
Tell us what is wild parsnipand what's happening with it.
And where did it come from, howdid it get here and how did the
(07:53):
whole wild parsnip start?
Speaker 7 (07:56):
Yeah, so with wild parsnip, and, if you don't mind,
I actually would like to startoff just explaining a little bit
more about the name itself.
Yes, yeah.
So I feel like just learningthe scientific name can really
show us a lot of.
It can help unravel thosecharacteristics of a plant and
(08:19):
give us a little bit about thehistory of the plant as well,
bit about the history of theplants as well.
And so with wild parsnip, itsscientific name is Pastienka
sativa and it has some ancientroots.
So the name comes from theLatin word pastus, which means
food, and sativa, meaningcultivated.
(08:40):
So what's fascinating is thatbefore potatoes, parsnip was a
staple food across Eurasia.
So it's known for its sweet andits starchy roots.
And, yeah, so wild parsniptoday, I think we kind of are
all familiar with it for adifferent reason.
(09:00):
It's known for its toxic effect, causing skin reactions.
So those reactions can be likeburns or blisters.
But the cultivated varietieswere less of a hazard, and I
think this might be because foodtypes were selected for lower
(09:20):
toxin levels or just becausepeople handle them in ways that
avoided the sap exposure, butwithout humans selecting it for
its you know, that tasty root itslowly started to just kind of
revert to a more aggressive,hardy, wild form, and that's
(09:42):
what we now know it to be wildparsnip.
So in a sense, it's gone fromthis domesticated plant almost
gone, feral, I'd like to say andit's become widespread and
invasive across North America.
Speaker 6 (09:56):
So is it something that people can eat the roots
just like regular parsnip?
Speaker 7 (10:03):
So, from what I understand, is that wild parsnip
, the root itself is a lot morefibrous because it's it's just
has been, you know, slowly kindof reverted to being more
aggressive, in the sense that ithas now focused more, a lot
(10:24):
more on seed production, forexample, and so it doesn't
necessarily and we're notcultivating it anymore to have
tasty roots.
So I myself I've never triedwild parsnip before.
Speaker 6 (10:40):
Perhaps there are some people who do forage for it
, but um, I did mention that itis a a toxic plant, so there
must be, um you have to handleit with with some special care
right, so, um now, so peopleobviously I I'm saying, I'm
suggesting should need it,because the toxins are must be
(11:02):
in the, in the, the root, likenormal parsnip, as well as the
stem and the leaves and theseeds.
Yes, noam.
Speaker 7 (11:10):
Yeah, I'm not too sure about the root itself, but
definitely the stem and theleaves, and I believe also the
toxic sap can also come out ofthe soft hairs that it has as
well, and so the plant.
It doesn't have to be brokenfor the sap to impact you.
(11:32):
Simply just kind of justbrushing up against it is enough
to cause harm.
Speaker 6 (11:39):
Oh, okay, so is it kind of like stinging nettle,
where it has these nettles wherethe formic acid in stinging
nettle would sting the same, or,do you know, is it a different
acid that causes problems withthe wild parsnip?
Speaker 7 (11:54):
Yeah, that's a really good question.
I've definitely been stung bystinging nettle before, and I
don't think wild parsnip causesthat same stinging effect.
It does have a chemical calledand forgive me if I pronounce
this incorrectly funicumorins,and so that's the chemical
(12:17):
that's found in the plant.
And so when the sap is exposedto sunlight, that's when it
causes the reaction, and thereaction that it causes is
called phytophotodermatitis.
So it shows up as a painfulrash that can turn into a burn
and then, in some more severecases, blistering and scarring.
(12:39):
My fiance, I'm pretty sure atone point he did get some wild
parsnip blistering and scarring.
He went off trail one time andhe came back with a painful rash
that later blistered, and so Isuspect that was likely wild
(13:02):
parsnip that he came in contactwith.
Speaker 6 (13:06):
Okay, so how does it compare, say, to poison ivy?
Because, I believe, do you nothave to have the juice from
poison ivy, so you have to breakthe leaves or the stems in
order to get the rash or theinfection, or however we want to
call the result of getting iton you.
Is it the same or is it alittle bit different?
Speaker 7 (13:25):
Yeah, that's a really good question, and I think
everyone will react differentlywhen it comes to poison ivy.
I think with poison ivy, evenjust brushing up against it
could be enough.
Some people can respond to that, and I'm going to use my fiance
as an example too, because heseems to always be running up
(13:48):
against all the hazardous plants.
But for him, for example, hejust has to brush up against it
and he gets a reaction from it,whereas me, I've been in poison
ivy tons of times before and Idon't get a reaction from it.
So everyone's going to reactdifferently.
(14:10):
I think with wild parsnip andeven giant hogweed, if you do
get that sap on you and it isexposed to sunlight, you will
get a reaction for sure.
Speaker 6 (14:21):
But boy, it sounds like your fiancé.
Your fiance is a guinea pig ofsome sort.
Go over there and let's see howyou react.
I'm trying to figure that out.
But so now if, if you cover itonce, you're exposed to wild
parsnip and the the whatever itis, whether it's just brushing
(14:42):
it up against it or the juicesfrom it, if you cover it because
it's not exposed to thesunlight, will that stop the
reaction or do you know?
Speaker 7 (14:53):
Yeah, so it does have to come in contact with
sunlight for it to cause thereaction.
Okay, and so you'll see thereaction happen within 24 to 48
hours of sun exposure.
Speaker 6 (15:12):
So once the sun has been exposed to it?
Because the reason I'm askingis I had somebody come and see
me and they asked about wildparsnip and that's what inspired
us to talk about it on the show.
And they were in Lindsay andtheir son had been exposed to
wild parsnip and they asked willthis cream, the skin cream,
(15:34):
have help with it?
And I said, to be honest, I'venever.
I don't know, I couldn't tellyou, I don't know the details
about wild parsnip.
Let me see if I can getsomebody on that has some
expertise in it and that's guesswhat that's you and that's me,
so I don't know.
So if the rash is out there is,what can you use?
Or can you cover it?
And will the?
Uh eliminating the sunlightstop it?
(15:55):
Uh from spreading, or does itspread?
Or how does it?
Because I think with poison ivythe same thing, um, once you
expose it and start to scratch,it'll spread throughout other
parts of your body and that'ssimply because of the.
My understanding is the fluidit gets relocated.
Is it the same with wildparsnip?
Or can you cover it and it'llstop the reaction or decrease it
(16:17):
even more, or do you know?
Speaker 7 (16:19):
Yeah, from what I have experienced with my family,
using my fiance as an example,um, it doesn't spread like
poison Ivy.
Um, essentially, once, um it ison the surface of your skin, it
will.
It will stay there.
Um, if you do get exposed to it, it is advised that you do
(16:40):
avoid the sun for at least 48hours.
Um, and then to seek medicalattention as needed.
In terms of creams, I'm not toofamiliar with what sort of
cream that you would use.
I think my always go-to hasalways just been aloe, but I
(17:01):
wouldn't take advice.
I'm not a trained medicalperson, so, yeah, I would get.
I would seek medical attentionfrom a from a doctor in that
regards.
Speaker 6 (17:12):
Right, so okay.
So how did wild parsnip gethere?
Has it always been here?
Is it something that's beenintroduced, or what?
Speaker 7 (17:20):
Yeah, so that's a that's a really great question.
And so and so, wild parsnip.
It is native plant to Europeand Asia and it was introduced
to Canada, the United States,south America, new Zealand and
it was very likely that it wasbrought over here to North
America by early Europeansettlers who grew it as a root
(17:41):
crop.
So yeah, so by 1943, there werereports of wild parsnip
actually growing in everyprovince, every Canadian
province.
But the first reports ofcultivated form in Canada it
dates back to the early 1600s.
So it's been around for quite awhile.
(18:02):
So it's been around for quite awhile In terms of its habitat.
It's often found in areas thatis exposed to full sunlight.
So I think that also kind ofhelps in its aid right.
When you get the sap on you,you're likely in an area maybe
(18:22):
with full sunlight already, butit can also grow in semi-shade
of forests and also riverbanks.
It really thrives in meadowsand grassland conditions or
environments.
As you can imagine, these arevery exposed areas so they can
tolerate a variety of soils, butthey cannot survive in flooded
environments.
Here in Ontario you're mostlygoing to be finding wild parsnip
(18:48):
growing in disturbed areas, soyou can think alongside
roadsides, trails, shorelines,forest clearings, just anywhere
where that suitable habitat is,even just along fence rows,
those edge habitats,agricultural fields.
It grows really well with a lotof perennial grasses as well.
Speaker 6 (19:13):
So what zones does it grow in?
Is it all Ontario?
Are you going to find it in theSioux, sault Ste Marie, in
Southern Ontario, in Thunder Bay, in Moosonee, whereabouts?
Speaker 7 (19:24):
are we finding it yeah, so you're gonna find it um
all, all across um canada andevery province except um I
believe it was none of it.
Speaker 6 (19:35):
Okay, yeah all right, so so you can find it
everywhere.
And how does it get spread?
Like?
Is it birds are consuming theseeds and then passing it and
moving it to different areas, ordo we know?
Speaker 7 (19:48):
Yeah, so it does spread through seed production,
and so seeds can move around bywind, water, animals or human
activity.
So seeds can hitch a ride onour hiking boots, for example.
So those seeds, it can getstuck in soil or clay, for
(20:09):
example, and that gets stuck tothe bottom of our boots.
It can get stuck in tires, soany ATVs, for example, or it can
just get moved around by ourequipment.
So mowing, for example, ormachinery is another means of
spread.
Speaker 6 (20:29):
Yeah, I know One of my Chocolate Lab's buddies,
cooper, one of his owners wasworking at a golf course
apparently and they didn't knowthat they had wild parsnip there
.
Know that they had wild parsnipthere and he was sent out to
use a whippersnapper like atrimmer and just got covered all
(20:51):
over his face and everywherefrom it.
So it does spread around.
Now my understanding is,although I haven't seen it and I
haven't seen a lot ofinformation about it, it kind of
looks like Queen Anne's lacefor people that know what Queen
Anne's lace look like.
Is that correct?
Speaker 7 (21:07):
Yeah.
So, yeah, it does have a coupleof different key
characteristics.
So wild parsnip it's sometimesalso referred to as yellow
parsnip, and that yellow part tothe name is helpful because it
does have yellow flowers.
(21:28):
So Queen Anne's lace has yellowflower yeah, sorry, not yellow
white flowers.
Yes, and lace has yellow floweryeah, sorry, not yellow White
flowers yes, and so wild parsnip.
It reaches heights of, I'd say,between four to five feet tall.
It has a light green and deeplygrooved hollow stem, and that
(21:49):
is one of its keycharacteristics.
It's deeply grooved hollow stem.
It has very few white hairs andthe leaves are also another key
identifying feature.
It resembles celery.
Speaker 6 (22:02):
Oh, so it looks like celery.
The stem looks like celery, theleaves do.
Oh, the leaves do so.
And yeah, because there's otherstuff like do you know what
lavage is?
Speaker 7 (22:14):
Oh, I do.
Yeah, I think I had it growingin my garden last year.
Speaker 6 (22:20):
Yeah, I know I have lavage growing in mine and it
kind of looks like the leaves onlavage look like celery as well
and the head of lavage.
Although lavage will get quitetall Mine are probably seven
feet tall right now but the headof it kind of looks like Queen
Anne's lace almost as well onceit's seeded and gone to seed.
(22:42):
But yeah, so same kind ofleaves as celery or lavage for
those that know lavage.
So, monica, how does one, ifyou come across it, what do you
do?
How do you get rid of it?
Like, how do we stop ordecrease the spread as much as
possible?
Speaker 7 (23:01):
Yeah, and so I think you touched on a really
important point, and that'sprevention.
So, when it comes to invasivespecies, prevention is
everything.
So it's easier to stop a plantfrom taking hold than it is to
remove it and manage it once itgets established.
So that means monitoring andreporting invasive species and
(23:25):
also understanding what theylook like.
So we know that there areinvasive species that have
lookalikes, right.
So, while it's parsnip, lookslike Queen Anne's lace, as you
mentioned, even giant hogweedthey all look very, very similar
.
So it's really important thatwe learn to understand what
(23:49):
invasive species look like,especially before we decide to
remove it or create anymanagement plan for it.
And then I also mentionedearlier, too, about seeds
getting stuck in your boots.
So helping to prevent thespread of invasive species by
cleaning your boots or gearafter you walk the trail, for
(24:12):
example, that does go a verylong way in helping to reduce
any spread.
And so, yeah, and if you'reinvolved in any restoration work
as well, planting nativespecies to cover up that bare
soil, that can also make a bigdifference.
Speaker 6 (24:32):
Yeah, yeah, so, monica so one of it is.
So you mentioned your fiancegoing and you sending him in.
Go over there.
Let's see how you react.
How can you tell?
What does the rash look like orwhat is it identified by,
because all of a sudden you geta rash.
(24:52):
Is it something?
Is it a burning sensation?
Is it what?
Is it something specific?
Is there some way to identifyor can you tell?
Or is that something we needmedical people to give us?
Speaker 7 (25:02):
a breakdown on.
I think there's some photosonline that you can search up.
They're not the prettiestphotos so I give some caution if
you are to look at what thatlooks like.
But yeah, so typically you'regoing to develop a painful rash
(25:22):
that's going to feel almost likea burn and then over a couple
of days, that can turn into ablister and then, once that
blistering is done, it doessometimes scar or discolor your
skin, right, but I mean thatscarring my fiance.
(25:43):
It's been a couple of years nowand he does not have that
scarring anymore.
Speaker 6 (25:48):
Okay.
So it's kind of a burning rashsensation.
It's not like an itchy one or astinging or a burning sensation
.
Speaker 7 (25:56):
I think so.
It's more of a burningsensation.
I think the itching would comeafterwards, once it's starting
to heal.
I think that's just the normal.
Part of the healing process iswhen you start to feel that itch
.
But it wouldn direct um adirect cause that you would feel
(26:18):
right away right now.
Speaker 6 (26:20):
Um, there used to be a forester that uh handled the
um, the lindsey peterboroughdistrict and bob was his name,
bless his soul.
And bob used to have uhster'scompanies go in and do logging
in quite frankly, it was theGanaraska and a lot of times the
(26:42):
area wouldn't be cleaned up.
So you know, if there isn't ahalf decent truckload size, they
end up leaving some of the logsthere.
And so I'd ask Bob, you know,and I'd help him out.
He got a benefit and I got abenefit, so I'd take a clean up
logs and one of the patches Igot into was late fall, early
(27:03):
winter, and it was.
These were some oak logs andthey weren't number one stick
which is used for veneer orthings like that.
It was mostly smaller pieces,four or five feet long, anyways.
So I was handling all these anda day or so later I noticed I
(27:25):
was covered in poison ivy.
Is this the same sort of thingthat, if so, if something else
has been exposed to it, that youcan pick it up off a log or
branches or stuff like that, orwould you know?
Speaker 7 (27:39):
Hmm, yeah, I'm not too sure about that.
I don't know how long the sapwould last on a surface.
I'm not too sure.
Speaker 6 (27:48):
Yeah, Now how about pets?
I know what about my chocolatelab.
Can he get exposed to it in thesame way people do?
Does it affect them the same?
And if my pet gets exposed, canhe pass it on to me?
Speaker 7 (28:03):
Yeah.
So that's all really goodquestions, I think with.
I'm not too sure about pets butI know with agricultural
livestock it does impact them,so the chemical compounds, when
ingested it can cause a coupleof problems.
(28:25):
So the animal's not able to puton weight and I think it will
still cause some infertilityissues as well.
But that's ingestion right.
So I'm not too I haven't lookedinto in terms of contact with
pets, but I think you know it'sbetter to be safe than sorry.
(28:46):
So if you are, if you do see awild parsnip or a plant that
you're not too sure about, youknow, just take some caution
where your pet goes into ordecides to explore and then
maybe after a walk just to wipethem down.
Speaker 3 (29:09):
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(29:30):
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Tight lines everyone.
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And now it's time for another testimonial for Chaga
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Speaker 4 (30:45):
Well, I feel that it's had a significant impact on
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(31:06):
certainly knows what he'stalking about, and I like to be
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(31:28):
what I've invested in my healthand wellness.
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So you're seeing a big benefit from it an overall
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Oh yes, we're going to be there for eight months and
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Speaker 6 (31:59):
Right, so how do you take it, rusty?
Speaker 4 (32:02):
I put a tablespoon, or a teaspoon rather, in my
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Okay, when I brew the coffee,yeah, and I put it in as the
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And I put a little bit ofcinnamon in with it too, right.
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(32:24):
little bit of bitterness I use achaga and maple mix.
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Very good.
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That you make up for those that want to be well and
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Well, thanks very much.
We appreciate you taking thetime and sharing your Chaga
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Speaker 4 (32:45):
Sure enough, all right, okay, thank you, jerry,
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Thanks Rusty, thanks Sue.
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My pleasure.
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around five or six cups of tea.
Hey, thanks for listening Backto the episode.
So, monica, so if, for example,you happen to be into an area
where you find out afterwards,or whatever, there's wild
parsnip there and you thinkyou've been exposed to it, but
you haven't really had the sunissue, is it something that you
(34:06):
can wash off with soap and waterto stop it from affecting you?
Speaker 7 (34:10):
Yep, you got it Soap and cool water.
Speaker 6 (34:14):
Okay, and that'll eliminate it from being active
if it hasn't been activated bythe sun already.
Yes that's correct, okay, sowhere's a good site that people
can go to to identify wildparsnips so they can get a look
at it, so they know what we'retalking about?
Speaker 7 (34:31):
Yeah, so you can visit our website at
invasivespeciecenterca or youcan also use tools like apps.
So, for example, inaturalist.
That is a fantastic app whereyou can identify and report
(34:53):
invasive species.
Edmaps is also anotherfantastic app that you can
report your invasive species to.
Both Edmaps and iNaturalistthey're connected and so
whatever report that you post ineither or it will show up, and
so two fantastic apps that Ihighly recommend anybody to
(35:17):
check out.
It's great if you're juststarting to learn what invasive
species is, because you simplysnap a photo and then it's going
to bring up all the options ofwhat it thinks that picture is
and then it's going to recordthose results and that data is
very useful for researchers andscientists.
(35:38):
Everybody.
We look at that data.
We use that as data.
Um another means you can alsocall into the Ontario invading
species awareness program.
So I know this is this Ontariobase um, but aside from um, the
phone number, um, going to ourwebsite would be a good start.
Speaker 6 (36:00):
Right, okay.
So what else?
Anything else that you can tellus about wild parsnip and how
to avoid it, or do you dig itout?
Is that one of the key ways?
Speaker 7 (36:11):
Yeah.
So in terms of management, I dowant to say with management,
something to consider is thatoftentimes it is a long-term
commitment and you also do needa clear plan before you go into
it.
So just a couple of tips that Iwould like to share.
(36:32):
If you do have a population, soyou want to first just focus on
those satellite populations, sothose populations that exist
outside of the main population,because if you tackle that first
, you're going to have a goodchance of stopping it from
spreading any further.
And then also, too, you want totarget areas where the plant
(36:56):
poses the most risk.
So near trails maybe you haveit in your backyard in parks or
along water courseways, soanywhere where people, or even
pets, they can come in contactwith it.
Springtime, that is your bestwindow for control, especially
in its early stages, and you canhand pull, using gloves, of
(37:22):
course, or dig out the plantusing a spade.
And then, if you are dealingwith larger populations, it
would be pretty difficult to digout those populations.
So oftentimes the managementrecommendation is to use a
herbicide treatment and, if youhave the means, after you have
(37:43):
done the removal, covering thesite with a thick layer of mulch
.
I've heard that can also helpto stop the seeds from
germinating.
And then too, of course, thevery last thing is you want to
follow up with the site and youalso want to replant the area
with native species, becausethat will help you keep the site
(38:05):
stable and to help to preventregrowth.
Speaker 6 (38:09):
So is there a specific native species?
Like I know a lot of peoplewill say, you know you overseed
with grass to choke out otherplants.
Is that the same sort of thingwith wild parsnip?
You can try and do.
Speaker 7 (38:21):
Yeah, yeah, so you can use a type of cover crops or
you can also just plantdirectly into the ground.
It depends on your location andwhat's native to your area, and
also your site condition aswell.
Um, so if you're working with awetter site, for example,
compared to a meadow site, um,so those are all things that you
(38:44):
have to take into considerationwhen you do decide to replant
the area.
Um, the other consideration isthat, um, if you are going in
planting, then you want to markthat plant, know where you put
that plant, because you're goingto want to follow up regularly
(39:05):
to ensure that there's nore-sprouts and you don't want to
accidentally remove what youjust planted by accident.
So you want to know where youput your plants.
Speaker 6 (39:18):
Now, does wild parsnip?
Does it propagate throughrhizomes as well?
So you'd have shoots that areoffshoots and then shoot up.
Or is it just through seed ordo you know?
Speaker 7 (39:27):
Just the seed.
Speaker 6 (39:28):
Okay, and so one thing is then is the other thing
is if you get people who aretrying to manage it so they dig
it up, they follow all theprotocols, then what do they do
with it afterwards?
Because a lot of people justsay, oh, just put it inside the
yard waste bag and put it out atthe curb, but that's not what
you want to do, right?
Speaker 7 (39:49):
Exactly.
Very good point.
So with wild parsnip, or evengiant hogweed too, you never
want to burn or compost it.
If you do burn it, you do riskexposing the sap into the air,
and we don't want that.
You also never want to dump theplant material or just any
(40:12):
invasive plant material for thatmatter into natural areas, so
it does still have a chance toreseed, if you did collect some
seeds.
So instead you want to seal theplant material in a black
plastic bag and then leave itout in the sun for at least two
weeks to fully solarize and dryout, and then you can dispose of
(40:36):
them with your regularhousehold garbage that just
simply goes to landfill.
Speaker 6 (40:42):
Okay, interesting.
Well, that's certainly one ofthe key areas that I wanted to
talk about was wild parsnip,because I don't really have a
lot of exposure or a lot ofindividuals, but it just started
coming up and having that itwas a youth and then starting
asking and my mother telling meabout there's notification on
(41:02):
her hiking, her walking trailsthat be cautious because there's
wild parsnip in the area, andso I thought I'd have somebody
on.
But the other one is is isgiant hogweed.
Now let's go down the sameroute with that.
Uh, so did you send yourfiancee out to check anywhere
for?
hogweed no um, yeah, so.
(41:25):
So what does giant hogweed looklike and how did it get here,
or where is it from?
Speaker 7 (41:30):
yeah, yeah, so, um, yeah, giant, giant hogweed is
one of those plants that Icaution everyone against.
I've heard that giant hogweedthat will cause more severe
reaction than wild parsnip, forexample, and so, of course, I
mean two species that you wantto be aware of, but, like wild
(41:54):
parsnip, I'd like to just maybejust talk about the name, the
scientific name, because itgives us some clues into what
giant hogweed looks like, and Ifind it quite fascinating myself
.
And so the name giant hogweed,a scientific name, is Heracleum
manzigatsinum, and it has rootsgoing back over 2,000 years and
(42:19):
it connects to Hercules, theGreek hero that I think we all
know, and it makes sense whenyou see the plant's massive size
.
And so this is what I foundpretty interesting.
And so this is what I foundpretty interesting.
So the genius name Heracleion,that was mentioned by a
(42:41):
gentleman named Theophrastus,and he was a student of
Aristotle and he was known asthe father of botany, and he
described a healing plant calledPenicillia Heracleion, and that
translates to Hercules, allHealer.
So many scholars actuallybelieve that this refers to a
member of the Heracleion group,which is the same genus that
(43:04):
includes giant hogweed.
So this shows that humans haverecognized and recorded these
plants since ancient Greece,which to me is really, really
fascinating, and I think also tothe second.
The species name is also prettyfascinating as well.
So the species name isMantigetsina, and so that honors
(43:29):
Paolo Mantigessa, and he was an18th century Italian scientist
who really dreamed up earlyideas of space travel, credit
cards, air conditioning and, Ithink, even AI as well, and so
the plant was officially namedin 1890 by botanists Samir and
(43:54):
Lavier, and they're essentiallythey're naming it in tribute to
Paolo Mantegazza, and so again,this kind of blends, this
ancient botanical tradition, Ithink, with modern scientific
recognition, and also too, forme I find it pretty poetic
(44:14):
because Paolo was this visionarythinker, and giant hogweed is
also very present here in thefuture, so along with all of his
ideas that he thought about atthat time, right.
So he was thinking very earlyon of credit cards and air
conditioning, maybe, perhapseven poisonous plants as well.
Speaker 6 (44:40):
Interesting.
So okay, so you mentioned aboutancient Greece and these sort
of historic.
How did it get to North Americathen?
Do we know?
Speaker 7 (44:50):
Yeah, yes, so we do know.
So the 19th century it wasintroduced to parts of Europe
first, and that was just out ofornamental curiosity and then
since then it has just quicklyspread and established itself.
In fact, it is still on displayat the Alan Wick Poison Garden
(45:12):
in Northumberland, england.
So I find that prettyfascinating if you're ever in
that area, and yeah, it's apoison garden, which is really
really neat in my mind.
But yeah, so that's how it gothere.
It's native range, it's gianthogweed reminds me almost of a
(45:37):
sleeping giant.
So it originates in thesub-alpine regions of western
Cacasa Mountains and that formsa natural boundary between
Europe and Asia.
Speaker 6 (45:47):
Okay, so it was kind of in.
Yeah, I find it interestingthat a lot of these things were
ornamental curiosity youmentioned about and things like
that, that it looked like andwhere it is.
But you know how some of thesethings get into North America in
the first place, like purpleloosestrife, coming in as an
(46:10):
ornamental plant that was usedby you know people for plant
displays because of the purple,and now all of a sudden we have
to deal with this.
So what does it look like?
And kind of give us adescription of giant hogweed.
Speaker 7 (46:25):
Yeah, so giant hogweed.
It's a massive, striking plant,and when I say massive I really
mean that it's massive.
So it can grow up to fivemeters tall, so that's 18 feet.
It has thick, hollow green stemthat is blotched with purple
spots.
Sometimes those spots arealmost like streaks, and it's
(46:48):
covered in very coarse whitehairs.
So if you think of, like hisname suggests, hogweed, so hog,
you can think of hogs havingvery coarse hair.
That's what it looks like.
And so that stem, that purpleblotching on the stem and the
coarse white hairs, that is itskey ID feature of the plant.
(47:12):
And another key ID feature ofit is also its leaves.
So they're huge, they'remassive, they can be over a
meter wide and they're deeplylobed and jagged.
It's almost like a maple leafon a massive scale and to me the
leaves take on this angryappearance.
(47:34):
Another identifying feature isthat giant hogweed it typically
takes two to five years toflower.
So when it flowers it flowersfrom late June to July and it
has these large umbrella-shapedclusters of small white flowers.
It can reach up to a meteracross and then after flowering
(48:00):
it produces its seeds.
So one plant it can produceover I think it's 10,000 wing
seeds, and that easily spreadsby wind, short distances or by
water.
In fact, it can actually travelfor up to three days on water
and then, after it producesseeds, it dies.
Speaker 6 (48:21):
Really so it dies.
So if you come across it, Iguess if the seed pods are
removed or however the seedcomes out, then the plant will
normally die off regardless, orif you remove, that will it
(48:43):
depends when you remove it.
Speaker 7 (48:45):
So in the management guide for giant hogweed it does
mention that if you do removethe seed head too early, then
you risk the plant trying toregrow those seed heads even
more aggressively, even moreaggressively.
If you try to remove it alittle too late, then you risk
(49:12):
the seeds going, falling out andgerminating.
But essentially, yeah, soessentially once the plant is
ready to flower once it does, itwill die.
Speaker 6 (49:26):
Okay, so now the same thing.
Then what does the uh reactionto and how is the reaction?
Like you mentioned, just uh,brushing against wild parsnip is
the same for giant hogweed, oris it different there?
Speaker 7 (49:39):
yep, it's the same.
They both have that samechemical that I mentioned
earlier.
Um, it's the same thing.
It's going to cause aphytophotodermatitis effect.
With giant hogweed theblistering is a lot more severe.
I think with wild parsnip Icould be wrong here it may not
(50:04):
always lead to a blister, justdepending on how severe it is.
But with giant hogweed it willlead to a blister, and so they
typically say that giant hogweedit's a lot more severe.
Speaker 6 (50:17):
Okay, and so it's the same blistering that's caused
by exposure to the sun again,correct?
Speaker 7 (50:24):
Yes, that's correct.
Speaker 6 (50:25):
And so the same thing there.
If you get exposure to it andyou haven't been exposed to the
sun.
Again, correct?
Yes, that's correct.
And so the same thing there.
If you get exposure to it andyou haven't been exposed to the
sun, you can wash it off withsoap and water.
Yep, that's correct.
Okay and so?
And now?
What's the best way becausethis thing is so large and the
leaves are so huge to try andmanage it?
It's not like parsnip where youcan kind of contain it sort of
thing, correct?
(50:46):
Or how do we deal with that?
Speaker 7 (50:48):
Yeah, so it's very similar to wild parsnip.
It's spring is your best friendhere.
That's the best window forcontrol because that's when all
plants are just starting to comeup, right?
So as it just starts to come up, it's still going to be, the
leaves are still going to bereally, really small, and so
(51:09):
that's your time.
That's your best time tocontrol it, because if you wait
a little too long and when thoseleaves massive leaves appear,
then the risk of you knowgetting the sap on you and other
management control options,like digging out that, becomes a
lot less feasible.
So spring is your best time andyou can also dig it out as well
(51:35):
.
But with giant hogweed or wildparsnip, it's very important
that you are being mindful ofyour management and making sure
that you are wearing the properPPE, so personal protection
equipment.
Speaker 4 (51:51):
Right.
Speaker 6 (51:53):
So with your clothes?
I didn't talk about that withparsnip, but the same thing here
.
So if you get it on, if you'rein and happen to be exposed to
it and it's on your clothes, itcan probably transfer to the
person and you just wash that indetergent and that'll clear it
up.
Speaker 7 (52:09):
Yes, yes, it will Okay.
Speaker 6 (52:12):
Okay, and the same thing.
Now, monica, where does onefind the sites to identify giant
hogweed and are municipalitiesaware about it?
And I know there's somenotification I've seen on some
of the trails beware of gianthogweed.
Or now I'm hearing wild parsnip.
Same thing there.
What?
Speaker 7 (52:29):
are the sites to identify.
Yeah, exactly so, with both wildparsnip and giant hogweed.
I didn't mention this yet, butwe do have a best management
guide that is available on ourwebsite, including um fact
sheets as well, and so, um,those are fantastic resources
(52:51):
that I encourage anyone to lookup and uh become familiar with,
especially, if you do, if you dohave some um other species on
your property, then it'll giveyou the proper way to management
.
It goes into a lot more detailthan what I gave today.
Using those exact same tools iswhere you can report it or try
(53:14):
to identify it, so it'siNaturalist or EdMaps.
And, in terms of municipalities, so both giant hogweed and wild
parsnip, they are classified asa noxious weed under the
Ontario Weed Control Act, and so, in addition to this provincial
(53:37):
legislation, manymunicipalities, they have their
own property standards orcommunity bylaws that addresses
the maintenance of vegetation,which includes invasive plants,
and so these local bylaws thatcan require property owners, for
example, to remove noxiousweeds that present this risk to
(54:00):
public safety or just theenjoyment of shared spaces.
But I'd say that mostmunicipalities, they are
familiar with the bylaws andthey are familiar with giant
hogweed and wild parsnip as wellbecause of its risk that it
poses to public health.
Speaker 6 (54:21):
All right.
So, monica, I recall I hadsomebody I want to talk about
Phragmites.
Is there programs available tothe municipalities to try and
deal with it in the same waythat there is with Phragmites?
Speaker 7 (54:33):
Yeah, that's a really good question.
I'm not too familiar with anyother program aside from the one
that's the Invasive SpeciesCenter.
What we offer from the onethat's the invasive species
center, what we offer right, um.
So we do offer a um, a grantthat helps to helps
municipalities, conservationauthorities um address invasive
(54:54):
species um, and so that'ssomething that I would encourage
um anyone to to check out um.
But aside from that one, yeah,I'm not too familiar with
anything else.
Usually the resources that ittakes for municipalities, for
example, to manage wild parsnipor giant hogweed, that, just
(55:17):
from what I understand, justcomes out of their own budget
and usually that kind of fallsinto forest, forestry and within
forestry there's invasivespecies management.
Speaker 6 (55:30):
So you know, and with all the things happening around
the world, I often wonder ifthings like giant hogweed and
wild parsnips are used asmilitary deterrents for ground
troops.
You know, because all of asudden, okay, that would
certainly deter a lot of groupsif all of a sudden they
developed all these rashes andeverything else from these
(55:53):
plants.
And I don't know if you know,because it certainly surprises
me that they show up all thetime.
And of course there's thewonder of if other jurisdictions
impact other locations withaccidental introductions, of
whether it's certain speciesthat deplete.
(56:15):
Well, look what happened withthe emerald ash borer beetle and
the ash trees in Ontario andacross Canada, and the same
thing there.
So you know it.
Just, it makes me wondersometimes just how these things
all come to be, and that's why Ikind of trace back the how did
it come in?
What was the cause and thatsort of reason to figure that
(56:36):
sort of stuff out?
But who knows Now, monica, whatother ones we talked about wild
parsnip and giant hogweed whatother sort of ones are we going
to hear about next?
Do you think what other onesare out there maybe?
Speaker 7 (56:50):
Yeah, so in terms of keeping to the same family, so
they're actually all part of thecarrot family, we do have also
a native species called cowparsnip.
Okay, have also a native speciescalled cow parsnip, and so cow
parsnip it does also have atoxic impact, but that's usually
(57:14):
considered just moderatecompared to wild parsnip and
giant hogweed.
Cow parsnip, because it is ournative species, it has the white
flower that giant hogweed has.
So I think a lot of people doget confused with cow parsnip
and giant hogweed.
(57:35):
But cow parsnip it doesn't havethose purple blotches that I
mentioned at the beginning alongits stem, mentioned at the
beginning along its stem.
So it might have a purple tinge, but it's not very distinct
purple blotches and it also hasvery fine white, soft hairs, so
not coarse hog-like hairs thatgiant hogweed has.
(57:59):
And it's also a lot smaller inheight as well.
It's also a lot smaller inheight as well.
So for height it grows up to.
I believe it's two and a halfmeters high.
So it's a little bit tallerthan wild parsnip, but a lot
less.
It's shorter than giant hogweed.
Speaker 6 (58:22):
So you said it's native species, though, correct?
Speaker 7 (58:24):
Yes, it is a native species.
Okay, and so what's the impactwith this one?
Is it the same?
You get the rashes once exposedto the sun.
Yep, yep.
I'm not too sure about theblisters, though I think
blisters that's more of a severeimpact that you would more so
find with wild parsnip and gianthogweed.
That you would more so findwith wild parsnip and giant
hogweed.
Speaker 6 (58:45):
And so why is this one called cow parsnip?
Speaker 7 (58:49):
Yeah, that's a good question.
I haven't looked into why it'scalled cow parsnip.
I suspect that it has somethingto do maybe with cows, it's my
(59:10):
guess, but um, perhaps.
Um, how?
I don't know if thisinformation is correct or not,
but um, it might taint cow'smilk.
Um, again, I don't know if I'mremembering that correctly.
Um, but that is something thatI have to look into.
Speaker 6 (59:23):
Yeah, no problem, I just wondered because you know
we're hearing about all theseand, quite frankly, I think I
briefly heard about wild parsnipbut then all of a sudden my
mother's talking about wildparsnip signs by her walking
trails to watch out for, andthen somebody exposed to it, and
then I find out that at a golfcourse one of the people I know
(59:44):
gets completely covered to it.
And then I find out that, youknow, at a golf course you know
one of the people I know it getscompletely covered in it, and
so all these sort of things.
And yeah, it's just kind ofshocking to see and the impact
that's out there and you know,and so the more that people know
about it, the more informationthat they'll have, the better
they can deal with it, right.
Speaker 7 (01:00:02):
Exactly.
Speaker 6 (01:00:03):
Yep.
So, monica, how can people getin touch with you or find out
more information about all thosenot so nice things that we just
finished talking about?
Speaker 7 (01:00:12):
Yeah, so please visit our website, so
invasivespeciescentreca throughthe contact page there as well.
If you just send an email in orif you call in, you can also
reach me.
So if you have any furtherquestions about these species,
(01:00:34):
please feel welcome to reach outto the Invasive Species Centre,
and I'd be happy to chat moreabout it.
Speaker 6 (01:00:41):
Yeah, and for any of those interested, you're
probably taking donations foryour fiancé for personal
protection equipment.
Speaker 7 (01:00:48):
So when?
Speaker 6 (01:00:48):
you send him out that he's protected in the future.
Speaker 7 (01:00:52):
Thank you.
Thank you, terry, for lookingafter him, no problem.
Speaker 6 (01:00:56):
So this is just something a little bit different
that people are learning aboutthings that are happening out
there under the canopy, and wereally appreciate you taking the
time, monica, to be on ourprogram.
Thanks again.
Speaker 7 (01:01:08):
Thank you so much it was.
It was a joy, no problem.
Speaker 2 (01:01:31):
How did a small-town sheet metal mechanic come to
build one of Canada's mosticonic fishing lodges?
I'm your host, steve Nitzwicky,and you'll find out about that
and a whole lot more on theOutdoor Journal Radio Network's
newest podcast, diaries of aLodge Owner.
But this podcast will be morethan that.
Every week on Diaries of aLodge Owner, I'm going to
(01:01:54):
introduce you to a ton of greatpeople, share their stories of
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plenty of laughs along the way.
Speaker 1 (01:02:05):
Meanwhile we're sitting there bobbing along
trying to figure out how tocatch a bass and we both decided
one day we were going to be ontelevision doing a fishing show.
Speaker 2 (01:02:15):
My hands get sore a little bit when I'm reeling in
all those bass in the summertime, but that might be for more
fishing than it was punching youso confidently.
Speaker 6 (01:02:24):
You said hey.
Speaker 2 (01:02:24):
Pat, have you ever eaten a drum?
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