I just read some scary info about Wild Parsnip

Hi everyone,

I was just reading a gardening newsletter that Lee Valley Tools emails me on occasion. This issue had some rather scary info on Wild Parsnip (Pastinaca sativa), a highly invasive plant that grows all over North America. Apparently the sap can cause severe blistering of the skin and even blindness if it gets into your eyes.

Thank goodness I have never seen any growing in our yard. We do have some invasives in the very back of our yard, which is a losing battle because they're growing all around this area, so we do our best to keep them from spreading elsewhere.

If any of you are curious about this plant, here's a link to the article from Lee Valley's newsletter. Below it, I also posted the info from PlantFiles as it appears many people are already familiar with its hazards

http://www.leevalley.com/us/newsletters/Gardening/1526/WhatIsIt.htm

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/31787

I had heard this before. I almost thought I had it this spring, but that's the wrong time of year for it to flower. What I have is Golden Alexanders. Sadly, I found a plant along the road on the north side of our property. We cut it above the ground and carefully put it in our trash bag. I will look into trying to dig that up next year when new growth emerges.