Content
- 1 A little history
- 2 Biological features of Sosnovsky's hogweed
- 3 Interesting fact
- 4 Dangerous properties of Sosnovsky's hogweed
- 5 Interesting fact
- 6 The benefits of Sosnovsky's hogweed
- 7 Ways to combat Sosnovsky's hogweed
- 8 What to do to curb hogweed
- 9 Control measures that have no effect
- 10 Conclusion
People say: if you want to annoy your neighbor, add a handful of seeds to his garden. hogweed Sosnovsky. What kind of plant is this and why are gardeners so afraid of it?
Hogweed - in Latin - Herácléum is part of the Umbrella family and has 52 species. Most of them grow in the Eastern Hemisphere, in its temperate regions. There are 40 species of plants of this genus on the territory of our country. Until recently, it was considered the most common Siberian hogweed. Over the past 30 years, Sosnovsky's hogweed has gradually become a leader.
A little history
There are several versions of the history of the appearance of this plant. Some believe that Sosnowski's hogweed is the result of genetic research by a secret institute. But if we take into account the attitude of the USSR government in the late 30s and 40s, in particular Stalin, towards genetics, this version seems problematic.
The answer to the question can be suggested by the Latin name of the plant - Herácléum sosnovskyi Manden. The last word is an abbreviation of the name of the biologist who isolated and described it.It belongs to Ida Panovna Mandenova, a Soviet and Georgian botanist and taxonomist. She has several more species of giant hogweed, which she isolated and described while studying the flora of the Caucasus in the 40s of the 20th century. Hogweed Sosnovsky was named in honor of Dmitry Ivanovich Sosnovsky, who did a lot to study the flora of the Caucasus. The Sosnovsky hogweed plant existed in nature for a long time, but had a rather limited habitat. Its spread is the “merit” of the person who introduced this giant into culture, which led to an anthropogenic environmental disaster.
For the first time, experiments on introducing this plant into culture began in 1946, 4 years after the death of Academician Vavilov, to whom these studies are credited. The Polar Alpine Botanical Garden, located in the Murmansk region, was involved in the experiments. This unusual choice of region can be explained by the fact that in nature, most species of hogweed grow in the subalpine zone.
Sosnovsky's hogweed was intended to feed animals. The huge biological mass of the plant - up to 2500 centners per hectare - gave bright prospects for its use as a forage crop. But the hopes were not justified. The cows' milk became bitter from such food. Since Sosnovsky's hogweed turned out to be an antiseptic, it was not possible to ferment milk for processing. Due to the strong estrogenic activity of this plant, cows began to have problems with reproduction. The calves were not carried to term. As a result, they stopped feeding this crop to livestock, but the plant’s dispersal mechanism had already been launched.
Biological features of Sosnovsky's hogweed
The description of this plant should begin with its gigantic size.
- The height can reach 3 m.
- The thickness of the stem is up to 8 cm.
- The taproot goes deep into the ground up to 2 m.
- The leaves are impressive, ending in small spines, reaching a width of 1.2 m and a length of 1.5 m.
- The flowers are huge umbrellas up to 40 cm in diameter, bearing a total of up to 80,000 flowers. Here they are in the photo in all their glory.
- The plant is monoecious, so it does not need a pollinator. Even a single specimen can mark the beginning of an entire colony of giants. Flowers are pollinated by insects.
The number of seeds in the Hercules grass allows it to successfully conquer new territories; the record holders have up to 35,000 of them. And such a property as monocarpicity, that is, the ability to grow until the plant blooms and produces seeds, makes it very difficult to combat hogweed. The process of growth before flowering can take 12 years, even with annual mowing. Seed germination is high and amounts to 89%. Their maximum viability is 15 years. They are light and are carried by the wind over long distances.
- This plant blooms in July-August, and the seeds ripen in August-September.
- The stem has pubescence.
- Different types of hogweed can interbreed with each other, forming hybrids.
But it is not only its gigantic size that allows this plant to dominate and displace its neighbors.
Interesting fact
Most often, Sosnovsky's hogweed grows in places with disturbed grass cover - near former cowsheds and in places where unrotted manure has accumulated, where livestock often walks. There is a simple explanation for this fact.The fact is that Sosnowski's hogweed feeds on cyanobacteria and other anaerobic bacteria, which are present in abundance in places with low oxygen content, namely where there is an accumulation of manure.
An avalanche-like process is observed: the better this plant feeds and grows, the less oxygen there is near it, the more actively cyanobacteria multiply. To get rid of competitors, the plant has learned to secrete special substances into the soil that have a detrimental effect on cells that have a nucleus. These substances prevent them from dividing, effectively destroying them. Cyanobacteria and other anaerobes do not have a nucleus and everything goes only to the hogweed. This feature makes it unkillable, but at the same time somewhat limits its habitat.
Dangerous properties of Sosnovsky's hogweed
How dangerous is Sosnovsky's hogweed? It contains essential oils, the main active ingredient of which is furocoumarins, which have a photosensitizing effect, causing photodermatosis on the skin. The alkaloids and triterpene saponins contained in this giant are also considered toxic to humans. Consequently, Sosnovsky's hogweed is a poisonous plant; all its parts are dangerous, especially in the generative phase of development: during flowering and seed ripening.
Never come close to Sosnovsky's hogweed, much less touch it.
The photo shows the consequences of contact with this dangerous plant.
The effect of essential oils on the skin is that it completely deprives it of protection from ultraviolet radiation. Therefore, burns occur on the skin after contact or even just being near the plant, which sometimes reach 3rd degree.
They are very painful, difficult to treat and take a long time to heal. Most often, such burns have to be treated in a hospital. Recovery may take more than one month. Burns leave painful scars.
A burn that affects the outer membranes of the eyes can result in blindness, since it also affects the cornea.
Unfortunately, some time passes between the effect of hogweed essential vapors on the skin and the appearance of skin reactions, about a quarter of an hour; contact with the dangerous plant continues and the degree of damage increases, so the consequences of burns are very severe, even fatal.
The burns from it are not as severe, but no less painful.
How to minimize the consequences of contact with Sosnovsky's hogweed is shown in the video:
This plant is especially dangerous for people with allergies. Contact with it can cause in allergy sufferers the so-called Quincke's edema, when the larynx, swollen from the inside, simply does not allow a person to breathe.
Interesting fact
A lot of negative things can be said about hogweed, but it also has medicinal properties. This plant acts as
- soothing;
- painkiller;
- antiseptic and anti-inflammatory;
- anticonvulsant;
- antispasmodic;
- antipruritic.
The range of medicinal effects of this plant is quite wide. Based on it, effective drugs have been created to treat many diseases.
The Institute of Biology of the Komi Republic received a patent for the use of a drug from Sosnovsky's hogweed to suppress salmonella, and A.I. Sukhanov proposes to treat psoriasis with a tincture from this plant; he also received a patent for this method.
A detailed study of Sosnovsky's hogweed revealed other beneficial properties.
The benefits of Sosnovsky's hogweed
- Having studied annual plants, scientists A.I. Sigaev and P.V. Musikhin found that their composition and physical properties are close to reeds. Scientists managed to obtain a fibrous semi-finished product containing cellulose. It can partially replace wood raw materials in the production of packaging cardboard.
- Successful research has been carried out on the production of bioethanol, which is a biofuel, from hogweed raw materials.
- With the use of Sosnovsky's hogweed as a fodder crop, not everything is clear either. Sosnovsky's hogweed contains a lot of protein, which makes it possible to use it as a fodder crop, but with certain restrictions. Silage from this plant, mixed with other high-protein crops, can be fed to animals not intended to produce offspring and milk: calves, bulls, fattening cows. Since furocoumarins are also present in hogweed silage, its quantity must be strictly regulated. In small doses these substances increase the productivity of animals; in large doses they are poisonous.
Interesting facts: there are very exotic ways of using hogweed, for example, as a musical instrument or material for protecting the trunks of young trees from mice.
The photo shows a chandelier made from Sosnovsky's hogweed.
Ways to combat Sosnovsky's hogweed
But still, it does much more harm than good. The increasing spread of this poisonous plant worries people in different countries. The issue of combating it is being resolved at the government level; many countries already have government programs aimed at eliminating this environmental disaster. The number of hogweed plants is constantly growing, they are taking over more and more territories, suppressing wild and cultivated plants growing nearby.
Is it possible to fight him? The experience of different countries suggests that it is possible, and quite successfully. There are effective ways to combat this giant grass that will help rid the territory of our country of hogweed, leaving it in its original habitat.
What to do to curb hogweed
- A herbicide can be used against Sosnowski's hogweed. The most common is Roundup. Its concentration must be no less than 360 g/l. Plants will have to be treated more than once during the season. The main condition is the amount of wetted leaves is at least 70%. Any processing method can be used: sprayer, paint brush. The greatest effect is observed when treating the plant in the leaf growth phase. Plants are treated in a chemical protection suit.
- Agrotechnical practices. Mowing the grass of Hercules is effective only if it is subsequently plowed, repeatedly disced, and populated the area with perennial grasses or planting potatoes. It is impossible to mow hogweed with a lawn mower or trimmer, as small parts of the plant may end up on unprotected areas of the body.
- The use of geo-fabric is possible if it is covered with soil on top with a layer of at least 5 cm and sown with lawn grasses. Geotextiles are laid on crushed plants.
- Using black film. A black film is placed on the sloping surface of the earth and pressed well. Next season, the area must be sown with grass or a crop that needs frequent loosening.
Control measures that have no effect
- Normal mowing.
- Pruning and uprooting of rhizomes.
- Application of black non-woven material.
Hogweed Sosnovsky has a relative that is often found throughout our country, which is not only not a poisonous plant, but has long been used for food purposes - Siberian hogweed or bunch. These two types are slightly different. Siberian hogweed is smaller than its counterpart, it does not grow higher than 1.8 m. There are other differences: the leaves of the bunch are more dissected, the stem at the top is branched and more pubescent than that of Sosnovsky hogweed.
There are also differences in the inflorescences and their constituent flowers. The flowers have yellowish-green petals, and the rays of the complex umbrella inflorescence are pubescent. Siberian hogweed produces a faint smell unique to it.
There is also a difference in the habitats of these plants: Sosnovsky's hogweed loves moist soils, but waterlogging is destructive for it, while its Siberian counterpart grows well in flooded meadows, along the banks of streams and rivers - where the soils are moist. You can also find it in sparse forests.
This species has long been used as food. This is also evidenced by numerous local names: hogweed, wild sorrel, borscht.Young shoots and leaves are eaten, the decoction of which smells like mushrooms. The leaves are placed in the salad, and their petioles are pickled. The plant produces caviar, which tastes like eggplant.
The green mass of Siberian hogweed is readily eaten by livestock.
Conclusion
In nature there is a law of balance of species. Its violation due to ill-considered human actions in relation to the animal or plant world leads to environmental disasters. There are many examples of this. The same thing happened with Sosnovsky's hogweed. And if at one time it was thoughtlessly introduced into culture, now they are also trying to destroy it thoughtlessly. Perhaps, having studied Sosnovsky's hogweed in detail, humanity will come to its senses and begin again to breed what it is so violently destroying today.
