Please put my mind at rest...poisonous weed related!

Randonneuse

Randonneuse

Well-Known Member
Joined
7 August 2010
Messages
673
Location
Stroud/Cirencester (but France originally!)
Visit site
Can anyone please tell me what this is?
I thought it was Giant hogweed but looking at pictures it looks like common Hogweed (cow parsnip) which is apparently fine for horses?
The field I moved my horse to a few months ago is now absolutely full of it and although he hasn't touched it so far I am quite worried now!

Thanks! :-) (sorry pictures are not great as taken tonight at 9.30pm!)









 
ETA OK I said cow parsley which horses love and is good for them but I actually can't see too clearly from the pictures on my phone. They are quite different looking though!

Hogweed is quite different to cow parsley, it has more circular heads of flowers and big robust slightly purple stems, the leaves are darker and have fewer points so are more jagged and spiky looking rather than like little frilly ones :-)
 
Last edited:
Nope, think you're OK. I would say its Hogweed. Here we call the smaller-leaved stuff "Cow Parsley" but appreciate in other parts of the country one thing can be called by several other/different names.

What you need to watch for, and there's loads of it about, is "Hemlock" & "Water Hemlock". Awful stuff, very poisonous. Once you've seen it and know it, its very easy to spot. The stem is the real giveaway, it has cranberry/mulberry coloured blotches on the stem, which is hollow right through. It does have quite dainty white flowers and serragated leaves which is why it is easy to confuse with Cow Parsley

If you don't know what you're looking for then its easy to confuse it. Basically, if you see it, deal with it. Its evil stuff. There's plenty of information on-line about it; I came across a website in the US (think University of Kansas or something similar) where they do research into poisonous plants and have some very clear pictures of it, plus details of fatal dosages etc.

Um, just an observation hun, BUT you need to trim around your electric fence and make sure its clear of vegatation & undergrowth etc, coz it will earth out if the wire bit is touching any vegetation, and basically won't work!!! Your Ned won't respect it coz he/she won't get any shock from it either, it will in effect be "dead" if it touches anything. Sorry, hope you don't mind me pointing this out!
 
http://cal.vet.upenn.edu/projects/poison/plants/pppoiso.htm

Sorry meant to include this link, here it is.

The pictures are not the best I've ever seen of Hemlock, but you'll see how similar it can look to Cow Parsley.

Distinguishing feature however is the stem: hollow plus with the red/mulberry blotches - this is the real giveaway. And it STINKS! Treat it with care and don't touch it with uncovered skin.
 
hogweed can cause some unpleasant burns on the nose and lips if horses eat it, it is one of those that cause photosensitivity. It can also cause horrid skin reactions if you touch it so be careful when removing!

One of my ponies who has a pink nose had some awful scabby burn type bits around her lips, I felt it was too much for buttercup burn, but we also have some ragwort she may have grazed too close to (ponies are elsewhere now while i'm getting rid), she loves cow parsley so it's possible she ate some hogweed although they are supposed to avoid it as its super bitter!
 
Only giant hogweed will cause burns and photosensitivity, common hogweed is perfectly safe and that is what OP has. I have masses of the stuff growing in our field and have spent far too much time researching the different varieties...I need to get out more!

I think some horses will eat common hogweed, my ponies aren't interested in it :(
 
The big leaved plants in your pic are Burdock which have those godawful burrs that get completely tangled in manes and tails. Personally, I would go out with a spade and cut them off at ground level.
 
Giant hogweed will grow well over head height--you have not got that.

Oddly I have a neighbouring area of ''no mans land'' where I have pulled ragwort for 10 years.
This year no ragwort (one job less) but the area is full of hogweed!
 
Yes, it's just normal hog weed, my first pony went mad for the flower buds & the cob I ride now loves only the new leaves, I've never known any health issues with it.
 
Only the sap from giant hogweed will burn, the common variety is perfectly safe! I pick the heads from the plants in our field with no gloves on :)
 
That's common hogweed - my pones love it.

Cow parsley - hogweed - hemlock:

Cow parsley - flowers earliest out of the 3. Dainty feathery filigree leaves, dainty flower heads, green ribbed stems. No smell. Grows up to about a metre high. Yum yum.

Hogweed - flowers towards end of and after cow parsley season. Big broad leaves, big creamy-white flower heads. No smell. Grow up to about 1-1.5 metres high. Also yum yum.

Hemlock - flowers towards end of and after cow parsley season, then continuing throughout summer, grows 1.5-2m high. Dainty feathery filigree leaves and very dainty flower heads (similar to cow parsley but if you look at photos of both, you'll see subtle differences). Main ID is hemlock has green stems with purple spots on their length and it STINKS like a musty mouse nest.
 
Suechoccy said:
That's common hogweed - my pones love it.

Cow parsley - hogweed - hemlock:

Cow parsley - flowers earliest out of the 3. Dainty feathery filigree leaves, dainty flower heads, green ribbed stems. No smell. Grows up to about a metre high. Yum yum.

Hogweed - flowers towards end of and after cow parsley season. Big broad leaves, big creamy-white flower heads. No smell. Grow up to about 1-1.5 metres high. Also yum yum.

Hemlock - flowers towards end of and after cow parsley season, then continuing throughout summer, grows 1.5-2m high. Dainty feathery filigree leaves and very dainty flower heads (similar to cow parsley but if you look at photos of both, you'll see subtle differences). Main ID is hemlock has green stems with purple spots on their length and it STINKS like a musty mouse nest.
Click to expand...


Spot on Suechoccy.

GIANT HOGWEED - much rarer, grows twice as high as you are tall. Toxic and notifiable.

Mine eat hogweed by the ton whenever they get near it. There's one hemlock plant in their field (SSSI, so it'd be illegal to damage it), which they wouldn't touch with a bargepole. They can tell the difference, even if we can't.
 
I beleive hemlock is quite rare now (someone correct me if am wrong) and normally found at abandoned railway lines/building sites etc.
We have lots of hogweed in the hedgerows round here, my horses doesnt like it but friends cob was munching it last night!
Giant hogweed i don't think i have seen, thought we had some in the garden but i think it was just standard hogweed :)
 
Giant hogweed is just that - enormous. The heads can be the size of an umbrella and the merest brush on it can give you nasty burns. Your pictures are what I grew up calling Cows Kager (although I've never seen it written down, so don't how you spell it!) which may be the local name my mother used, so from Somerset/Wiltshire. Either way it is harmless. Cow Parsley has feathery leaves, finer stems and smaller flower heads, and smells like parsnip. My mare adored eating the fresh leaves and flowers in the spring.
 
I beg to differ that it is harmless.
have had burnt cracked pink noses that recovered when the ponies were removed.
 
Perhaps it was something else that caused the burning, or maybe you had the giant variety rather than the common. Common hogweed is safe, it can be eaten raw by humans and is used in some medicines (herbal I think)
 
Having said that I've just found this article which makes for interesting reading about the two varieties and it does indeed say that some common hogweed plants can cause burning but it is not understood why and possibly something to do with a fungus attacking the roots of the plant which in turn leads to the plant creating toxins to kill the fungus. So you must have just been unlucky, I hope it didn't cause any lasting damage to your ponies :)
 
The OP's pic is common hogweed. My horse occasionally snacks on it and has come to no harm, but is not pink skinned :) He does, however, adore cow parsley (the one that flowers first) and is still eating it now if he can find it, even after the flowers have gone over.

The other one that looks a bit like both is ground elder - he rather likes that too :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top