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Autumn Firth needed crutches after a chance encounter with the dreaded giant hogweed caused extremely painful burns to her feetA teenage girl may need a skin graft after her flesh was burned away in a momentary brush with “Britain’s most dangerous plant”. Autumn Firth, 13, was left on crutches after a chance encounter with the dreaded giant hogweed caused “extremely painful” burns to her feet. The teenager, from Denbigh, now has a long road to recovery before her. “She was on the riverbank in Denbigh and she was barefoot,” said her dad Jonathan, 35. “She stepped on a piece of...

A Virginia teen suffered significant burns to his face and arm after reportedly being exposed to hogweed. Alex Childress, 17, was inflicted with second-and third-degree burns after unknowingly touching the plant while he was working outside at his landscaping job on Tuesday, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Childress reportedly believed the plant was a weed and went to remove it from the ground. A person's skin can burn and blister after coming in contact with sap from the plant. Childress’ father, Justin, recalled to the outlet how his son told him he had a “really bad sunburn.” “The top layer...

Giant hogweed is part of the carrot family, and for a toxic plant, it is surprisingly pretty. It can grow up to 14 feet tall, with thick leaves stretching two to five feet across and large clusters of white flowers gracing the top of the plant in an umbrella pattern. The spray of white flowers looks similar to Queen Anne's Lace, but the experts at Massey Herbarium note that giant hogweed is much larger, with chunkier leaves. The Virginia Tech group posted photos of the plant on Facebook, urging anyone who comes across a giant hogweed plant to report it...

It's exotic and beautiful, a 15-foot tall plant with clusters of dainty white flowers and human-sized leaves -- resembling, it is often said, Queen Anne's Lace on steroids. But giant hogweed is an invasive species that is spreading around much of the northern United States. Even worse, its sap is extremely poisonous, with the potential to cause blistering burns and even blindness. Now that the giant hogweed's flowering season is here again, experts are taking the opportunity to draw people's attention to the plant -- for the sake of human health as well as for the health of the environment....

<p>ALBANY, N.Y. (CBSNewYork/AP) – New York State environmental officials are trying to nip a huge, dangerous plant in the bud.</p> <p>The giant hogweed, a monster plant with flowers the size of umbrellas and sap that causes blisters and blindness, is spreading across New York. The Department of Environmental Conservation is asking for help locating outbreaks.</p>