Wild parsnip in the Ottawa Valley

First year plant.
The second year it matures
and produces blossoms and seeds.
The birds and wind have scattered it.

Wild parsnip (Pastinaca sativa L.) is everywhere. We know. We drive into the city for healthcare on a regular basis.

www.eddmaps.org/Ontario

You can report wild parsnip online [www.eddmaps.org/Ontario]. I'm not sure what for, as it lines the roads. You can't drive these roads without spotting it.

Easier to report where it isn't!

Its poisons are oily and hard to remove.
Phytophotodermatitis results when you have the oils on your skin, and you are exposed to the sun.

1. Phytophotodermatitis, also known as "Lime Disease" (not to be confused with Lyme Disease), "Berloque dermatitis", or "Margarita photodermatitis" is a chemical reaction which makes skin hypersensitive to ultraviolet light.

Wild parsnip worries continue in Ottawa as part of Rideau Trail closed

Kevin Wylie, the city's general manager of public works, says city staff sprayed more than 200 kilometres of roadsides to fight the toxic weed in the spring. (CBC News)