Thursday, October 03, 2002

Hogweed? Hogwash!

Increased public awareness about the dangers of Giant hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum) has led to hundreds of reports that the species had been spotted, but only a few turned out to be the real thing. Giant hogweed was discovered in the wild in New England earlier this summer. Since then, 9 additional confirmed cases of giant hogweed have been found in Connecticut, according to this article in the Norwich Bulletin. While wading through 300 "sightings" to find those 9 probably led to some seriously overworked scientists, you can't ignore the benefits of educating the public about invasive plants.

No comments: