INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
For years, Russian landowners have watched a toxic, invasive plant species spread across their properties like wildfire and have been
sap that flew from the hand scythe [that caused my burns]
risk.Hogweed sap contains furanocoumarins, toxic compounds that can cause third-degree burns when exposed to sunlight as well as blindness
Severe burns covering over 80% of the body can be fatal.Due to its high reproduction rate, with a single plant yielding from 20,000 to
equivalent to Cyprus or Lebanon.As hogweed continues to take over Russia's roadsides, fields and dachas, experts question how effective the
it's impossible to fine everyone
that hogweed may be "part of the U.S
resistance and phenomenal productivity, gained momentum and was deliberately broughtfrom its natural habitat in the mountainous forests of
the Caucasus to the center of the U.S.S.R., where it easily dominated the native low-lying grasses.During the post-war famine, many Soviet
regions embracedhogweed growth until concerns about its safety brought its cultivation to a halt
even permeated Russian pop culture, being featured in popular TV series, computer games and rock songs
infected with hogweed instead of cordyceps.According to Yaroshenko, about 90% of hogweed tickets in Russia are found on abandoned
reforestation on those lands could help alleviate the hogweed problem, this is prohibited under current laws."This colossal seed
Allowing [people and businesses] to grow forests is one of the most effective ways because the forest serves as both an economic asset and a
flowers.Krzysztof Ziarnek (CC BY-SA 4.0)A silent disasterOnce it takes over a particular area, hogweed effectively displaces local species,
activist groups refer to it as a "slowly unfolding environmental catastrophe." By the time a dacha owner suspects something is wrong on
their property, millions of hogweed seeds have already permeated the soil.As Russians continue to abandon small villages in favor of cities,
individuals with strategies for eliminating the plant from affected lands and preserving still-untouched areas.Clamping down on hogweed
remains challenging because of the common practice of focusing on thickets while neglecting areas where individual plants are growing, a
distinguish hogweed from other species or lack knowledge of its threats to nature, a representative for the group said, requesting anonymity
to those during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, the representative said."[Something] like 'wear masks, wash hands,' so that it would
resonate from all directions."According to the Earth Touches Me environmental project, combating invasive species like hogweed requiresa
expand its habitat, potentially engulfing almost all of European Russia by 2050.The plant has already been spotted beyond the Arctic Circle
Arkhangelsk region several years ago, Yaroshenko said he believes the plant will spread even further as the planet continues to warm.Amid
the high costs and complexity of combating the invasive plant, he warned that the hogweed problem will require more attention than merely
