Doug Gucker from the U of I extension office joins Ag Answers to talk about the early Spring rain is bringing in some dangerous weeds.
Poison Hemlock is commonly seen now in urban areas. It seems that our early and wet spring caused an abundance of weeds to flourish.
Remember, seeing unplanted fields that were yellow, well that was commonly found to be cress-leaf groundsel, which is highly poisonous to ruminant animals.
There are three plants that are often confused by people- wild carrot (Queen Anne’s Lace), wild parsnips and Poison Hemlock. Remember the philosopher, Socrates, he died from poison hemlock. This is a highly toxic plant.
Wild carrot has white flowers, green stem and shorter stature (2-3′); Wild parsnips yellow flowers, thick green stem and 3-4′ tall; Poison Hemlock white flowers, green stem with purple blotches or spots, and tall 6-9′