A research horticulturalist in Newfoundland and Labrador is calling for greater control of a fast-growing weed that produces a sap that can burn human skin.
Todd Boland, a scientist with Memorial University's Botanical Garden, told VOCM radio that the municipality of St. John's needs to take the giant hogweed more seriously.
If the plant's sap reaches a person's skin and the skin is exposed to sunlight, the chemical reaction can cause bad burns, blistering and scars.
The giant hogweed's sap has also been known to cause temporary blindness or, in extreme cases, permanent loss of eyesight.
Boland says someone from the capital city's municipal government should be removing the plants before something happens.
The horticulturalist says the weed was first discovered growing wild in the capital city about seven years ago, but it's just now becoming a more serious problem.
He says it was initially very localized, with an extremely small population, and people didn't pay much attention to it.
However the scientist told VOCM that the population of the giant hogweed in Newfoundland and Labrador is slowly starting to increase.
He says the university has received reports of the weed from as far away as Brigus -- about 50 kilometres across Conception Bay from the provincial capital.
The plant has also been spreading around the country.
It was spotted around the coast in British Columbia in late June, and is known to flourish in the Lower Mainland, Fraser Valley, Gulf Islands, and central to southern Vancouver Island.
It was discovered in the Renfrew County area in eastern Ontario on Thursday.
Jeff Muzzi, a manager of forestry services for Renfrew County, has said in an interview that his officials have been destroying the toxic vegetation.
However, Muzzi said the indomitable weed has become a problem for other places in the province, including southwestern Ontario.
The plant often sprouts in waste land areas, such as ditches and vacant lots.
