I thought it may be helpful to give you an update on Giant Hogweed in and around Port Stanley. As part of my weed inspection work with the county, I provide weed identification services and control advice all over the county. Since all the media on hogweed, I’ve had over 50 calls on it, and a significant number from the Port Stanley area.

The good news is that so far I have only confirmed Giant Hogweed in 5 places in the whole county, and I am working with landowners in each case to eradicate it. Fortunately all of these sites only involve a few plants. Even better news is that there are no confirmed cases in Port Stanley or anywhere else in Central Elgin.

I was called out to look at the plant that ran on your website a few days ago and confirmed it to be Cow Parsnip, which is a member of the same family as Hogweed. The other plant that is often mistaken for Giant Hogweed and is very common in and around Port is Angelica, which is also the same family but not a concern from a human health perspective – there is a lot of Angelica up around the north west corner of Port in ravine and creek bottom areas.

There is some evidence that some people can be sensitive to Cow Parsnip, but it is a native plant and of little concern compared to Giant Hogweed. These weeds are all members of the same family as Wild Carrot (the Carrot/Parsley family), and some people can even be slightly sensitive to Wild Carrot.

Actual Giant Hogweed is a major concern, so we are working hard to try to eradicate it in Elgin County.

This is a link to some good information from the Michigan Department of Agriculture. There is a page devoted to the characteristics of the 3 plants most commonly mistaken for Giant Hogweed.

David Pullen is the Forest and Soils Supervisor with the Kettle Creek Conservation Authority and the County of Elgin Tree Commissioner and Weed Inspector. If you have a question or concern about obnoxious weeds, he is the local authority to contact at 519-631-1270 ext. 231.