Virginia Teen Suffers Third-Degree Burns After Cutting Down a Giant Hogweed Plant

What's 14 feet tall, green, hairy, and covered in toxic sap? It may sound like a monster, but this scary beast is actually giant hogweed, a towering, invasive plant whose sap can cause painful burns, scarring, and possibly even blindness. Originally from the the Caucasus mountain region of Eurasia, researchers just confirmed the presence of this federally listed "noxious weed" in Virginia for the first time. The state now joins Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Michigan, Illinois, Washington, and Oregon as hosts to this non-native plant. -- More...