Yep. We have Giant Hog Weed and Wild Parsnip. Both can grow 8-10’ tall and are usually found in roadside ditches.
If you’re cutting them back and get the ‘juice’ on your skin, that juice, when exposed to sunlight can blister you up in a very painful way.
So if cutting it, you need to cover yourself well, wear gloves, eye protection, the whole works. A Hazmat suit is pretty much needed. Nasty stuff.
Another one is Gas Plant - which is beautiful when in bloom, but also causes blisters and burns to those that are allergic - usually light-skinned redheads. Don’t know why anyone plants them - they really DO smell like a gas leak if you dare to get close enough in the first place.
https://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/3283/
Thanks for the inof- yep that was it. Not sure if we have it around us on east coast, as I’ve not seen any and have done some pretty ext3nsive hiking and photographing in years past, but we do have a large leaf plant that i think is different, but wi.. haveto check to make u
Sure it isn’t hogweed. I don’t think it is though.
If you can work at night, that also helps. The reaction requires sunlight.
If you can keep the exposed skin away from sunlight long enough, it will wear off and then you’re safe. But it does take several days, with frequent scrubbing. I think it took about 6 days the last time I had to deal with it.
If you’re not sure, expose the skin to sunlight for just 10 seconds, then cover it up and wait half an hour. You’ll feel a burning sensation but there won’t be an actual burn. If you don’t feel anything, then carefully expose the skin for longer periods, again covering back up and waiting half an hour in case there’s a delayed reaction. When you get up to 4 minutes of exposure with no reaction, you’re *probably* safe, but keep a close watch on it and don’t go sunbathing for a couple of weeks.
Depending on which part of you is exposed, keeping it covered could mean anything from a bandaid to long sleeves and gloves. Ignore fashion. Those blisters are too painful to risk, and they leave some nasty scars.