Burns, even blindness: 'Nasty,' invasive giant hogweed spreading in Canada

By Aly Thomson
It can cause third-degree burns and even permanent blindness — and it’s spreading.
Giant hogweed is cutting a wider swath in British Columbia and Ontario, and the Nature Conservancy of Canada is urging people across the country to document sightings of the­ towering, three-metre green plant with large umbels of white flowers.
Dan Kraus, a biologist with the conservancy, said the invasive Asian species likely arrived in Canada in the 1940s and can now be found in ar