| Comment | There are several related species all belonging a family of plants called [Apiaceae](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apiaceae), which also includes carrots, parsnips, and parsley. Some of them naturally produce phototoxic chemicals, including Queen Anne's lace, or wild carrot. The species you'd commonly see around Scotland is common hogweed or cow's parsnip, which is several times smaller than the giant species and doesn't produce toxic chemicals (it's actually edible, and people sometimes forage its shoots, but you have to be *extremely* sure you know which species you're harvesting).
Giant hogweed is a problem because all parts of the plant, including the hairs on the stalks and leaves, have very high concentrations of these toxic chemicals, and the fact that the plants are so large and spread so rapidly makes contact with them more likely. People have often been injured by brushing against the leaves while cycling or walking, or worse, by trying to remove the plants themselves without knowing about the danger and so not wearing any PPE. It's the reason why cutting them down and uprooting them are not recommended for controlling them: either of those methods will release large amounts of the (extremely toxic) sap into the air. |
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