At this time of the year it comes out again. First with the large leaves and then in June/ July with a splendid blossom that also delights the bees. In the past, the plants were even planted in the gardens. The splendor of the large leaves paired with the beauty of the umbellifer was an ornament (or still is, if you look at it purely visually). It was also recommended to beekeepers in the second half of the 20th century as a great plant for bees.

We are talking about the Hercules perennial or giant hogweed. An invasive plant that was introduced here in Europe at the beginning of the last century. It had spread extremely here on our site. Fortunately, when we took over the Riedmuehle 10 years ago, we quickly realized what a dangerous plant it is. At that time there was often an article in the newspaper about the excavation activities of the BUND (Bund für Umwelt und Natur, An environment friendly association) , so we became aware of it. (Please be fine if this is not a scientific statement with appropriate technical terms, we have Grandpa Google and Uncle Wiki and 'with tree plant factor' cousin Ecosia to consult:

'Photosensitizing substances', 'phototoxic', 'photodermatitis' are terms that appear there - i.e. burn-like skin reactions. I don't want to go into the details here, what happens if you e.g. use this stem as a blowpipe or marble track, you can find the pictures on the net. If the flower can develop freely, a single plant will scatter up to 10,000 seeds.

As a highlight the plant was voted poison plant of the year 2008.

The safest way to stop the spread is to dig up, or at least reach the top third of the root. Because it is enough if only the root is still in the ground that the plant develops stronger again.

So even now a huge thanks to the BUND - and everyone who participated - for the campaigns with digging the plants around Karben every year.

We have spent every free minute and have dug out several tens of thousands of plants over the years. Both very small and large ones. The "gems" could only be pulled out with a small digger, since the roots were up to 80 cm long. We then let them dry up and burned them. (Never throw it on the compost)

We have referred to the plant as 'the beast'. And continue to call the forays - also beyond the Riedmühlen area - then 'hunt for beasts'. We do this several times a year from May to July.

I am writing this because the plant is unknown to many:

We still have a small collection under constant control (see picture above) and we always discover when we point out to people that the plant is often unknown. So if you have such plants in the garden or find it in the wild or, for example, very often on river banks and streams (because the seeds have been transported with the water to new locations), use a spade (but please wear protective clothing) or report it to the council. The municipalities are t to eliminate the spread.

Please dig out and / or report to the municipality:

The following applies to this plant: it is never too late. 'Every excavated plant is a good plant' and 'eliminate when it starts' as soon as the typical leaf shape is recognizable as a delicate plant: get out.

It would be a shame if this plant also found refuge in the great renatured parts of the Nidda river here in Karben.

Here some more pictures: