Have just come home after seeing Common Hogweed in Brockley & Ladywell Cemeteries in South London looking gorgeous with an array of tall umbrella florets reaching just above head-hight thriving so well in rainy May. I wanted to be sure of ID and have been led here and have learned even more about the delights of eating it. Thank you
Great informative video about hogweed, I'm definitely going to be adding it to my spring foraging forays :) However, I would like to emphasise that anyone with sensitive skin should be EXTREMELY CAREFUL not to let the plant touch your bare skin when picking. I have sensitive skin and have ended up with phytophotodermatitis several times from contact with plants in the carrot family. This causes painful blisters which can scar. Just use gloves and wear long sleeves/trousers, especially if it's sunny. This applies to ALL members of the carrot family to varying degrees. Don't let it stop you enjoying them, just take precautions! Happy foraging :)
I was introduced to the shoots on a foraging day a few years ago. I actually usually just eat them raw as I'm walking along! They remind me of celery 😊
A brilliantly informative video. I have not yet tasted or foraged common hogweed, as I was worried I could perhaps mistake it for it's relative, giant hogweed. Your video has given me some valuable pointers to help differentiate the two... Thank you! Away I go...
I've been trying to identify this plant for a long time! Thanks! My horses are obsessed with this plant, I pull them hand bouquets and they love them! It smells really fresh and lovely too :)
Nice vid! But u think u should have mentioned the poisonous plants that are quite similar to this. Like the hemlock , and show their respective leaves and looks. As hemlock is deadly poisonous. Socrates poison.
Hemlock have more of a fern-like leaf to them, and don't have the same, distinguishable flower buds. I agree though, it's good to make new foragers aware of these deadly plants, and others they may stumble across. Yes, interesting isn't it. The ancient Greeks used it as an execution method. What a horrible, horrible way to go.
Mm even though it doesn't look anything like hemlock I agree hemlock should still be mentioned because of the umbel flowers,and the fact that some people haven't got a clue that the umbelifer family is so big.
I eagerly await the Hogweeed buds, each spring. A little later this year, on account of a cold April but the flower pods look big and that fresh, astringent and pungent broccoli crunch, is what I fancy, right now. So good on a herb salad and great as an addition to a cycling picnic menu. Memories of adventures and welcome vitamin boosts. It's a flavour like no other. Lovely video. Didn't know about the leaves, stems and seeds, as food! Thanks for this info; life-enhancing. All the very best
l have just started foraging and really appreciate you sharing your knowledge and help in clearly identifying this plant. You inspire confidence so hope to harvest this plant next time I'm out. l regularly cook with cardamom so look forward to using their seeds. Thank you
Ive been foraging most of my life..46 now.. but still have so much to learn...what an Incr'edible plant! Ive been wanting to try this plant for a while now. But obviously ive been extreemly careful with this carrot family of umbelifers. I reckon this is one of the more easier to identify. Thanks alot for the video.
Your awesome and I appreciate your time in teaching us with your educational videos...I love when you tell us about how you cook literally everything with butter 😂
Good info! He said that even the common hogweed wasn't bad if you got some sap on your skin (unless it was a warm sunny day), and then avoid contact. When he picked the stem, he scratched his face a few times, and from that point on and even while I'm typing this, I feel all itchy.
Awesome explanation and description, Thank you. As I go mountain biking every chance I get I have avoided Hog weed just in case it was giant hog weed. I now know that the only place I have seen Giant hog weed is on the road-side at Ilkley moor. will add common Hog weed to my diet straightaway, I love broccoli in cheese sauce and pepper with a clove or two of Giant Garlic Mmmm.
Well I'm blowed I feel quite thick , I'm a farmer son who grown-up in the middle of nowhere in the black down hills of Devon and till now never thought these were edible. Thank you for the enlightenment.
I just collected some. Found some garlic mustard beside it so I'm going to throw that into the frying pan too. Just came on here to treble check before I eat it :)
Here, in Russia, we have our own siberian hogweed, the puchka. Looks like this, though is uniformly jade-green and its flowers are yellow-green. Also we do have our own giant hogweed, the Sosnowsky's hogweed.
super informative about the parts of the plant and how to cook it. And how to distinguish the giant hogweed. My husband got a bad giant hogweed burn last week. Its really nasty
Many thanks for this info. Living on this stuff at the moment due to reduced trips to the supermarket because of Covid. Could be just my imagination but I definitely feel a lot healthier after eating this. Not sure if maybe it has extra nutrients that supermarket veg doesn't have.
As amateur forager, I think that plants in the Umbelliferae family fascinating but massively frustrating. There are just so many similar-looking varieties of white flower so I'm never exactly sure which plant I'm seeing!
Yeah I'm afraid to touch any of them after getting sap on my hand from one that caused me problems for several years. Parsley,carrots, hemlock, pigweed, ad nauseum I can't tell them apart.
what we need is someone to upload a video guide to ALL of the umbellifers growing in the uk. i'm amazed no one has yet thought of the idea. they are so easily confused that it would be a public service if some knowledgeable botanist with a camera was to take on the challenge. 10 seconds per species is fine. at least it would give them something to do during lockdown!
Hi, I was impressed with the natural flow of information and everything you covered. I feel it could have been improved if you threw up some binomial text for the common hogweed and giant hogweed for various benefits eg learning by association.
a good lockdown challenge would be for a knowledgeable and go-getting individual to harvest video footage (and upload the resulting video) of ALL the various umbellifers to be found in the UK. from delicious fennel pignut dill carrot, through dodgy cowbane& giant hogweed all the way to poinonous hemlock. all it would need is 10 second slots for each plant showing leaves flowers seedheads etc: ready steady...go!
Thanks. I'm still terrified I'm going to mistake a younger giant hogweed plant. The flower count is helpful, and I know about the red flecks on giant hogweed, but are they always there, or can it look green, or semi-splotchy purple as we can find on common hogweed? The first id feature I learned was the more spiky leaves on the giant, but as in this video, common sometimes has more separated and spiky looking leaves. Any other absolute differences (did I read somewhere that one stalk is rounder than the other?)? Do you have a good comparison video you can link to?
Interesting that you use common hogweed when it’s still green. In Middle East particularly in Iran they use the dried seeds. Powdered dried seeds could be used in pickling or sprinkling over boiled broad beans and vegetables.
Yesterday, late July, managed to find some hogweed that's showing seeds. For every plant I traced down the stem looking for a leaf that would indicate hogweed and nothing else, and whilst the leaves were very much on their way out and shriveled I felt 100% sure at the time... but because of this family, am still having doubts a day after.... So my question is: when it comes to hogweed _seeds_ and knowing that the leaves are usually shriveled by now, are there lookalikes? Any chance of doing side-by side comparisons of various umbellifer seeds one day ? Because the hemlock seeds are starting to look worryingly similar....
I have something similar (in Florida) USA. It is a nuisance. It's trunk has a "boa" coloring. I dare not touch it as it will burn and leave thorns in my hand. I've tried to rid myself of it chemically and by digging it out and it comes right back. I've seen it flower once.
I have been avoiding flowers with these types of heads out of fear of eating hemlock by mistake, but I am assuming due to the fairly distinct leaves the only thing you can confuse this with really is the giant hogweed, and if I am just going down a normal country road away from rivers I am not likely to come across the giant variety...
You can find out more about all of those plants on the hedgerow food guide on our website. Also, here's an article which highlights the differences between common and giant Hogweed www.wildfooduk.com/articles/giant-hogweed-and-common-hogweed/
I braved some and it was delicious, in the area of wood in question (not a huge "wood" really) there aren't any streams that I am aware of so I am guessing no danger of coming across it, and even at a young stage those giant hogweed leaves look fairly distinct, I also checked for their hairs you see all over it when it catches the light. Would I be right in assuming giant hogweed is noticeably different and not at all pleasant to taste if you do somehow act with caution as some might anyway with even common hogweed sap and cook it? I am guessing if it's that bad for the skin it's really not a good idea to accidentally eat it either even if you do somehow avoid getting sap on your skin in the process
Unfortunately, Giant Hogweed can sometimes be found in places away from water... you can read more on it here www.wildfooduk.com/hedgerow-food-guide/giant-hogweed-1-hedgerow/ We couldn't say exactly how it tastes as we have never tasted it ourselves as it is far too dangerous to risk.
I am assuming you would notice pretty quickly upon handling it, even if you are otherwise normally immune to skin irritants, whether it is giant hogweed or not. I do notice some serrated edges on common hogweed but the "teeth" are often more rounded and the leaf in general is more rounded in shape. Again, when caught in the light the leaf is consistently covered in small hairs which I gather is a telltale sign, and I do see several young and old stems mixed in with greener stems that are streaked with red. I came across one stem that seemed a little blotchy in comparison, and I just didn't want to risk eating this so i threw it in the bin. Other than that the smell upon picking or cutting the stems is pretty distinct, and the stems themselves are delicious fried, even if the leaves are pretty unremarkable as food
Young giant hogweed looks VERY like young hogweed. It is often hard to tell them apart and I say that as someone who has encountered both of them for decades. Giant Hogweed often spreads away from water, especially on neglected land and the verges of motorways and railways. It is partly spread by the wind... Some giant hogweed get over ten foot tall... Also there are tonnes of other umbellifers which are poisonous, and it takes a long time to tell them apart.
Oh dear, I'm just back from my walk, I was looking for yarrow and found none. I don't know where to find yarrow. But I saw loads of this but had always thought it was poisonous. Would giant hogweed look like this when young. That would stop me foraging this. I'm afraid to make a mistake
You can hardly move for this stuff in my local park at the moment. It is rampant! I tend to try and avoid it due to the vicious reputation of its larger relative the Giant Hogweed (swathes of that down by the river) and the pollen from the flowers seems to irritate me. I'm surprise to learn it is edible! Although would I be correct in thinking both common and dangerous (giant) hogweed are in the carrot family?
Hi - we have much what I am pretty sure is common not giant hogweed around our house. However, it definitely has flowerheads with 20 spikes rather than the 12 you suggest. can you reassure me that your number was an underestimate on your part? I think the two are hard to confuse in reality... ours are in no way 'gigantic' but I want tombe reassured before trying!!
Hi Jonny, yup 20 is fine for common hogweed, I was very much erring ont he side of caution. They can have more than 20 on common hogweed. Giant hogweed will never have less and the larger mature flower heads will have many more sometimes around 50.
I have discovered a giant fast growing 'WEED' looks like a Hogweed , 7ft tall, purple raised spots on stems., but leaves are eliptical with serrated edges. WHAT IS IT ??
I believe i snapped a few stems off the other day - they were all dead so thought it would look nice in the array of stuff I had picked- and now I swear I’m forming blisters on my finger… and my eyes feel itchy… it’s been 48 hours since I touched it… any advice?
strange as the phototoxicity of common hogweed is normally not that bad unless you get the sap on you, and there hasn't been much sun to activate it either. Is it possible it was giant hogweed you picked? And have the symptoms persisted?
@@WildFoodUK1 no further symptoms and nothing progressed in the end further than just a small blister … I was picking and touching a fair bit that day so could be something else. thanks so much for replying!!
Yes, Giant Hogweed which is a serious irritant. We have a video of that on here and this article highlights the differences between the two www.wildfooduk.com/articles/giant-hogweed-and-common-hogweed/
Uhh me and my friend accidentally brushed up against me at school and now we have these massive burns and blisters on our legs that hurt so frikin much, how tf are u touching itttt
when very young giant hogweed has distinctive maple like leaves. Common hogweed leaves are also always more hairy and less spiky watch my young giant hogweed video here :) th-cam.com/video/yXeOTtaHMhc/w-d-xo.html
Great video, Marlow, but I'd never pick this due to its 'big nasty cousin'. If both plants were the same age, growing right beside each other, I still don't think I could identify which was which. I have to admit to that being a tad annoying as this excellent food source is available nearly all year round.
I wouldn't encourage most amateurs collecting it... It looks too like Giant Hogweed esp. when small and there are also a number of other poisonous umbellifers.
@@SobrietyandSolaceDuring lockdown I have been walking along a place where there is a lot of both. When they get big, they are easier to tell apart, but when they are below knee height their leaves are very similar. The seedlings are hard to tell apart, I've been dealing with the stuff for over thirty years and I still can't distinguish smaller ones 100%.
hi, I have a plant in front garden that looks like the giant hog weed. the reason why I'm concerned is because I cant make up my mind if its the giant hogweed or just a normal hogweed. it hasn't flowered yet but the tiny heads are coming through like little hairy balls.the stems are thin and furry and the leaves are thin and jagged. I'm reluctant to touch it after reading about this plant. pleas advise me as to what it is. many thanks.
This article compares the key differences between the two www.wildfooduk.com/articles/giant-hogweed-and-common-hogweed/ If you are still unsure then email a photo to admin@wildfooduk.com
Excellent video... I'm surrounded by hogweed where I live. Is it possible to differentiate between giant and common varieties when the plants are young?
Yeah, they’re usually too woody when they get to a decent size but the flavour is good, like a cross between a carrot and a parsnip with a hint of aniseed and quite sweet. Some native Siberians use it to brew a sort of beer.
hi. me again. I have just gone out and had another look at the plant and it has got purple stems!! I have cut it back as far as I can, but I cant get the roots out. should I call my local environment to get the rest of it out.? thanks again.
Perhaps unwise to encourage people to use hogweed lest they pick the young giant hogweed and not the edible ones? Mushrooms are best bought from a grocers' if unsure as well but I have yet to see hogweed in the vegetable section!
@@cathiepalmer5980 It's only the sequence of sun-sap-skin that's bad for you. There are many other plants that are only safe to eat once cooked, so this is no different.🙂
Does anyone have any resources for telling hogweed apart from other umbillifers? I can 99% tell them apart but I'd like to be 100% sure before I eat anything.
I respect you knowledge, but i really don't think we should encourage people to pick and eat this plant because of its very close resemblance to the giant hogweed. JMOP
+Science@pproved Because an idiot came on here saying the video should be removed and how dangerous it was after reading the Giant Hogweed articles in the paper. He thought this was a video about giant hogweed and reported me for dangerous content. He also pretended to have been a gardener for 20 years but after a little investigation it turned out he was a youngster. TH-cam put the age restriction on and though I've appealed they don't seem to have removed it :(
scratch your face... that's the way then cut and stroke that cutting then scratch your face, yeah that's the way....off camera after filming see the fella running up the lane screaming!
I strimmed some hogweed a few days ago and now my arms are covered in blisters haha learned my lesson, its not just giant hohweed that gets ya!!
Must of been gaint hogweed
Have just come home after seeing Common Hogweed in Brockley & Ladywell Cemeteries in South London looking gorgeous with an array of tall umbrella florets reaching just above head-hight thriving so well in rainy May. I wanted to be sure of ID and have been led here and have learned even more about the delights of eating it. Thank you
Great informative video about hogweed, I'm definitely going to be adding it to my spring foraging forays :)
However, I would like to emphasise that anyone with sensitive skin should be EXTREMELY CAREFUL not to let the plant touch your bare skin when picking. I have sensitive skin and have ended up with phytophotodermatitis several times from contact with plants in the carrot family. This causes painful blisters which can scar. Just use gloves and wear long sleeves/trousers, especially if it's sunny. This applies to ALL members of the carrot family to varying degrees. Don't let it stop you enjoying them, just take precautions! Happy foraging :)
I was introduced to the shoots on a foraging day a few years ago. I actually usually just eat them raw as I'm walking along! They remind me of celery 😊
I wouldn’t recommend eating them raw. We always cook them, but if you do eat them raw certainly make sure you don’t get the sap on your lips.
A brilliantly informative video. I have not yet tasted or foraged common hogweed, as I was worried I could perhaps mistake it for it's relative, giant hogweed. Your video has given me some valuable pointers to help differentiate the two... Thank you! Away I go...
I've been trying to identify this plant for a long time! Thanks! My horses are obsessed with this plant, I pull them hand bouquets and they love them! It smells really fresh and lovely too :)
Just tried this with my dinner. Absolutely lovely, somewhere between fennel and celery.
Free greens, what more can you ask for.😊
Your knowledge is brilliant. Thank you for this
Nice vid! But u think u should have mentioned the poisonous plants that are quite similar to this. Like the hemlock , and show their respective leaves and looks. As hemlock is deadly poisonous. Socrates poison.
Hemlock have more of a fern-like leaf to them, and don't have the same, distinguishable flower buds. I agree though, it's good to make new foragers aware of these deadly plants, and others they may stumble across. Yes, interesting isn't it. The ancient Greeks used it as an execution method. What a horrible, horrible way to go.
Mm even though it doesn't look anything like hemlock I agree hemlock should still be mentioned because of the umbel flowers,and the fact that some people haven't got a clue that the umbelifer family is so big.
Hemlock tends to grow in different environments and looks quite a bit different 👍
I eagerly await the Hogweeed buds, each spring. A little later this year, on account of a cold April but the flower pods look big and that fresh, astringent and pungent broccoli crunch, is what I fancy, right now. So good on a herb salad and great as an addition to a cycling picnic menu. Memories of adventures and welcome vitamin boosts.
It's a flavour like no other.
Lovely video. Didn't know about the leaves, stems and seeds, as food! Thanks for this info; life-enhancing.
All the very best
l have just started foraging and really appreciate you sharing your knowledge and help in clearly identifying this plant. You inspire confidence so hope to harvest this plant next time I'm out. l regularly cook with cardamom so look forward to using their seeds. Thank you
Ive been foraging most of my life..46 now.. but still have so much to learn...what an Incr'edible plant! Ive been wanting to try this plant for a while now. But obviously ive been extreemly careful with this carrot family of umbelifers. I reckon this is one of the more easier to identify. Thanks alot for the video.
Your awesome and I appreciate your time in teaching us with your educational videos...I love when you tell us about how you cook literally everything with butter 😂
Hey guys x lovely to see you here , Stella Rainbow ;)
Good info! He said that even the common hogweed wasn't bad if you got some sap on your skin (unless it was a warm sunny day), and then avoid contact. When he picked the stem, he scratched his face a few times, and from that point on and even while I'm typing this, I feel all itchy.
Do you still feel itchy?😮
@@Sandwich13455 I do.
Awesome explanation and description, Thank you. As I go mountain biking every chance I get I have avoided Hog weed just in case it was giant hog weed. I now know that the only place I have seen Giant hog weed is on the road-side at Ilkley moor. will add common Hog weed to my diet straightaway, I love broccoli in cheese sauce and pepper with a clove or two of Giant Garlic Mmmm.
Thanks for the tip - I’m from ilkley!
Well I'm blowed I feel quite thick , I'm a farmer son who grown-up in the middle of nowhere in the black down hills of Devon and till now never thought these were edible. Thank you for the enlightenment.
I just collected some. Found some garlic mustard beside it so I'm going to throw that into the frying pan too. Just came on here to treble check before I eat it :)
Here, in Russia, we have our own siberian hogweed, the puchka. Looks like this, though is uniformly jade-green and its flowers are yellow-green. Also we do have our own giant hogweed, the Sosnowsky's hogweed.
super informative about the parts of the plant and how to cook it. And how to distinguish the giant hogweed. My husband got a bad giant hogweed burn last week. Its really nasty
Many thanks for this info. Living on this stuff at the moment due to reduced trips to the supermarket because of Covid. Could be just my imagination but I definitely feel a lot healthier after eating this. Not sure if maybe it has extra nutrients that supermarket veg doesn't have.
I felt better for eating nibbles of plantain and sticky weed too
Oh my goodness! I have this growing all over our field and had no idea it was edible! Thank you so much for this video.
Wear gloves, wear long sleeves, and do NOT touch it or pick it in ANY way when it's sunny. Dangerous !
Great small film 👍👍
How can you tell the difference between young hogweed and young giant hogweed. Great video, love your shows.
I was wondering the exact same thing
This is very good to know. Thank you.
Now that i like thanks x
As amateur forager, I think that
plants in the Umbelliferae family fascinating but massively frustrating. There are just so many similar-looking varieties of white flower so I'm never exactly sure which plant I'm seeing!
They do all look a bit similar but once you get more experience you'll become more confident in telling them apart! :)
Wild Food UK can you recommend any good wild plant books to identify and prepare them?
Yeah I'm afraid to touch any of them after getting sap on my hand from one that caused me problems for several years. Parsley,carrots, hemlock, pigweed, ad nauseum I can't tell them apart.
what we need is someone to upload a video guide to ALL of the umbellifers growing in the uk.
i'm amazed no one has yet thought of the idea. they are so easily confused that it would be a public service if some knowledgeable botanist with a camera was to take on the challenge. 10 seconds per species is fine. at least it would give them something to do during lockdown!
@danjackson4149 1000% agree. I have done so much research and yet I am still struggling to tell them apart!
Hi, I was impressed with the natural flow of information and everything you covered. I feel it could have been improved if you threw up some binomial text for the common hogweed and giant hogweed for various benefits eg learning by association.
a good lockdown challenge would be for a knowledgeable and go-getting individual to harvest video footage (and upload the resulting video) of ALL the various umbellifers to be found in the UK.
from delicious fennel pignut dill carrot, through dodgy cowbane& giant hogweed all the way to poinonous hemlock.
all it would need is 10 second slots for each plant showing leaves flowers seedheads etc: ready steady...go!
Hogweed is delicious in a stirfry!
awesome! thanks so much for this vid ! :)
I love this channel! I'm going out tomorrow to try some. it is everywhere :) I must check out the website. keep the vids coming. thanks.
Very thorough explanation.. :)
Top!! Im fan of Marlow ❤
Absolutely fantastic video, thanks for the upload.
One question though, how nutritious is it? calorie wise??
Thanks. I'm still terrified I'm going to mistake a younger giant hogweed plant. The flower count is helpful, and I know about the red flecks on giant hogweed, but are they always there, or can it look green, or semi-splotchy purple as we can find on common hogweed? The first id feature I learned was the more spiky leaves on the giant, but as in this video, common sometimes has more separated and spiky looking leaves. Any other absolute differences (did I read somewhere that one stalk is rounder than the other?)? Do you have a good comparison video you can link to?
Interesting that you use common hogweed when it’s still green. In Middle East particularly in Iran they use the dried seeds. Powdered dried seeds could be used in pickling or sprinkling over boiled broad beans and vegetables.
Good to know what is Cow Parsnip amd difference between Giant Hogweed. I am afraid of Cow Parsnip because is so similar to terrific Giant Hogweed
Yesterday, late July, managed to find some hogweed that's showing seeds. For every plant I traced down the stem looking for a leaf that would indicate hogweed and nothing else, and whilst the leaves were very much on their way out and shriveled I felt 100% sure at the time... but because of this family, am still having doubts a day after....
So my question is: when it comes to hogweed _seeds_ and knowing that the leaves are usually shriveled by now, are there lookalikes? Any chance of doing side-by side comparisons of various umbellifer seeds one day ? Because the hemlock seeds are starting to look worryingly similar....
I have something similar (in Florida) USA. It is a nuisance. It's trunk has a "boa" coloring. I dare not touch it as it will burn and leave thorns in my hand. I've tried to rid myself of it chemically and by digging it out and it comes right back. I've seen it flower once.
I have been avoiding flowers with these types of heads out of fear of eating hemlock by mistake, but I am assuming due to the fairly distinct leaves the only thing you can confuse this with really is the giant hogweed, and if I am just going down a normal country road away from rivers I am not likely to come across the giant variety...
You can find out more about all of those plants on the hedgerow food guide on our website. Also, here's an article which highlights the differences between common and giant Hogweed www.wildfooduk.com/articles/giant-hogweed-and-common-hogweed/
I braved some and it was delicious, in the area of wood in question (not a huge "wood" really) there aren't any streams that I am aware of so I am guessing no danger of coming across it, and even at a young stage those giant hogweed leaves look fairly distinct, I also checked for their hairs you see all over it when it catches the light. Would I be right in assuming giant hogweed is noticeably different and not at all pleasant to taste if you do somehow act with caution as some might anyway with even common hogweed sap and cook it? I am guessing if it's that bad for the skin it's really not a good idea to accidentally eat it either even if you do somehow avoid getting sap on your skin in the process
Unfortunately, Giant Hogweed can sometimes be found in places away from water... you can read more on it here www.wildfooduk.com/hedgerow-food-guide/giant-hogweed-1-hedgerow/
We couldn't say exactly how it tastes as we have never tasted it ourselves as it is far too dangerous to risk.
I am assuming you would notice pretty quickly upon handling it, even if you are otherwise normally immune to skin irritants, whether it is giant hogweed or not. I do notice some serrated edges on common hogweed but the "teeth" are often more rounded and the leaf in general is more rounded in shape. Again, when caught in the light the leaf is consistently covered in small hairs which I gather is a telltale sign, and I do see several young and old stems mixed in with greener stems that are streaked with red. I came across one stem that seemed a little blotchy in comparison, and I just didn't want to risk eating this so i threw it in the bin. Other than that the smell upon picking or cutting the stems is pretty distinct, and the stems themselves are delicious fried, even if the leaves are pretty unremarkable as food
Young giant hogweed looks VERY like young hogweed. It is often hard to tell them apart and I say that as someone who has encountered both of them for decades. Giant Hogweed often spreads away from water, especially on neglected land and the verges of motorways and railways. It is partly spread by the wind... Some giant hogweed get over ten foot tall...
Also there are tonnes of other umbellifers which are poisonous, and it takes a long time to tell them apart.
Sorry to be critical here but there isnt a good enough closeup of the leaves and the stems or the flower heads to be able to id this using this video
Thanks for the feedback Dave. It's all welcome :)
What a great vid. I’m going to try the stems and the cauliflower parts. Do these grow/flower all year round?
I used young shots to make puréed soup, the texture was kind of "gritty".
How about the roots? Are they good to cook with as well ?
Oh dear, I'm just back from my walk, I was looking for yarrow and found none. I don't know where to find yarrow. But I saw loads of this but had always thought it was poisonous. Would giant hogweed look like this when young. That would stop me foraging this. I'm afraid to make a mistake
You can hardly move for this stuff in my local park at the moment. It is rampant! I tend to try and avoid it due to the vicious reputation of its larger relative the Giant Hogweed (swathes of that down by the river) and the pollen from the flowers seems to irritate me. I'm surprise to learn it is edible! Although would I be correct in thinking both common and dangerous (giant) hogweed are in the carrot family?
Hi - we have much what I am pretty sure is common not giant hogweed around our house. However, it definitely has flowerheads with 20 spikes rather than the 12 you suggest. can you reassure me that your number was an underestimate on your part? I think the two are hard to confuse in reality... ours are in no way 'gigantic' but I want tombe reassured before trying!!
Hi Jonny, yup 20 is fine for common hogweed, I was very much erring ont he side of caution. They can have more than 20 on common hogweed. Giant hogweed will never have less and the larger mature flower heads will have many more sometimes around 50.
I have discovered a giant fast growing 'WEED' looks like a Hogweed , 7ft tall, purple raised spots on stems., but leaves are eliptical with serrated edges. WHAT IS IT ??
send a pic to our website and we'll have a look
Sounds like the dreaded giant hogweed. Scythe it before it drops its nasty seeds everywhere!
How might one know if you've got a baby hogweed growing which is edible or a sapling of it's poisonous brother "Giant hogweed?"
I believe i snapped a few stems off the other day - they were all dead so thought it would look nice in the array of stuff I had picked- and now I swear I’m forming blisters on my finger… and my eyes feel itchy… it’s been 48 hours since I touched it… any advice?
strange as the phototoxicity of common hogweed is normally not that bad unless you get the sap on you, and there hasn't been much sun to activate it either. Is it possible it was giant hogweed you picked? And have the symptoms persisted?
@@WildFoodUK1 no further symptoms and nothing progressed in the end further than just a small blister … I was picking and touching a fair bit that day so could be something else. thanks so much for replying!!
Thanks for the video, but can you eat the leaves uncooked as salad?, or is that not advisable due to the photo toxic sap?. Cheers :)
***** we don't eat them raw, and I wouldn't advise it
what would you recommend as the top 5 most common wild UK edibles? thanks
Great video. I'll definitely be trying some soon. are there any other look alikes I should be wary of?
Yes, Giant Hogweed which is a serious irritant. We have a video of that on here and this article highlights the differences between the two www.wildfooduk.com/articles/giant-hogweed-and-common-hogweed/
Uhh me and my friend accidentally brushed up against me at school and now we have these massive burns and blisters on our legs that hurt so frikin much, how tf are u touching itttt
How can you.identify the juvenile giant hogweed against the common one.
when very young giant hogweed has distinctive maple like leaves. Common hogweed leaves are also always more hairy and less spiky watch my young giant hogweed video here :) th-cam.com/video/yXeOTtaHMhc/w-d-xo.html
@@WildFoodUK1 thanks.
its like schafgarbe
which plant make's you feel like u r losing since of smell or some plants smell like manure or and every thing Smell's the same !
Great video, Marlow, but I'd never pick this due to its 'big nasty cousin'. If both plants were the same age, growing right beside each other, I still don't think I could identify which was which. I have to admit to that being a tad annoying as this excellent food source is available nearly all year round.
I wouldn't encourage most amateurs collecting it... It looks too like Giant Hogweed esp. when small and there are also a number of other poisonous umbellifers.
Agreed. I've been doing this a couple of years and still seems like a bit of a gamble
@@SobrietyandSolaceDuring lockdown I have been walking along a place where there is a lot of both. When they get big, they are easier to tell apart, but when they are below knee height their leaves are very similar. The seedlings are hard to tell apart, I've been dealing with the stuff for over thirty years and I still can't distinguish smaller ones 100%.
can hogweed cause skins health or breaking trouble when this plant is dried out indoors
hi, I have a plant in front garden that looks like the giant hog weed. the reason why I'm concerned is because I cant make up my mind if its the giant hogweed or just a normal hogweed. it hasn't flowered yet but the tiny heads are coming through like little hairy balls.the stems are thin and furry and the leaves are thin and jagged. I'm reluctant to touch it after reading about this plant. pleas advise me as to what it is. many thanks.
This article compares the key differences between the two www.wildfooduk.com/articles/giant-hogweed-and-common-hogweed/ If you are still unsure then email a photo to admin@wildfooduk.com
Excellent video... I'm surrounded by hogweed where I live. Is it possible to differentiate between giant and common varieties when the plants are young?
Giant hogweed generally has much shinier leaves with no hairs. Here's my vid on the young plant th-cam.com/video/yXeOTtaHMhc/w-d-xo.html
Isnt it poisonous
no but the sap is phototoxic .
Can you eat the roots of the hogweed, And if yes would it be startchy?
Yeah, they’re usually too woody when they get to a decent size but the flavour is good, like a cross between a carrot and a parsnip with a hint of aniseed and quite sweet. Some native Siberians use it to brew a sort of beer.
hi. me again. I have just gone out and had another look at the plant and it has got purple stems!! I have cut it back as far as I can, but I cant get the roots out. should I call my local environment to get the rest of it out.? thanks again.
Common Hogweed can also show purple colouring, please read the article I have linked to on your other comment for more information on the two.
How can you tell the young plant isn't giant hogweed..?
much hairier leaves
...The giant Hogweed has hairier leaves even when young?
But the common hogweed is dangerous too? Can't see me collecting any Anytime soon
the audio is either too quiet or too loud.
We call it cow mumble ,used to feed it to are rabbits.
which plants can make you feel like you have got cactus needles all over body ?
Cactus?
Perhaps unwise to encourage people to use hogweed lest they pick the young giant hogweed and not the edible ones? Mushrooms are best bought from a grocers' if unsure as well but I have yet to see hogweed in the vegetable section!
You've just said not to touch the sap so how are you supposed to eat it?
I think he was saying don't get the sap on your skin & leave it on a sunny day.
@@Nitecrow314 if the sap is bad for your skin why would you eat it?
@@cathiepalmer5980 It's only the sequence of sun-sap-skin that's bad for you. There are many other plants that are only safe to eat once cooked, so this is no different.🙂
Thank you - I understand what you mean now! X
@@cathiepalmer5980 You're very welcome, ATB ❤️ X
Tried eating a dandelion leaf yesterday, made my face turn inside out, realised it was way to mature.
OMG
Y’all have some strong stomachs...
Does anyone have any resources for telling hogweed apart from other umbillifers? I can 99% tell them apart but I'd like to be 100% sure before I eat anything.
what is your favourite plant?
Wild Garlic :)
I respect you knowledge, but i really don't think we should encourage people to pick and eat this plant because of its very close resemblance to the giant hogweed. JMOP
I agree Alan. We need to be careful with mushrooms too.
why is it age-restricted?
+Science@pproved Because an idiot came on here saying the video should be removed and how dangerous it was after reading the Giant Hogweed articles in the paper. He thought this was a video about giant hogweed and reported me for dangerous content. He also pretended to have been a gardener for 20 years but after a little investigation it turned out he was a youngster. TH-cam put the age restriction on and though I've appealed they don't seem to have removed it :(
+Marlow Renton well he is a jackass
spray it with roundup..
Why?
scratch your face... that's the way then cut and stroke that cutting then scratch your face,
yeah that's the way....off camera after filming see the fella running up the lane screaming!
I was fine ;)
Swear hog weed is awful for humans! Completely kills!
Hogweed is poisonous tho!
No it's not, Giant Hogweed is dangerous but that's a different plant
www.wildfooduk.com/articles/giant-hogweed-and-common-hogweed/
OMG