A first

[loony]

Hi , was at mousesweet brook local nature reserve ,cradley,yesterday and my friend and i saw some giant hogweed ! over 6feet high and the first i`d ever seen ! really huge ! also loads of himalayan balsam--never seen so much .

[leifus]

they are aren't they? I've only ever seen one though

[davidbr]

It's certainly a spectacular plant; at Wheatfen in Norfolk, back in June, there was a plant in flower that I guess-timated to be at least 12ft high! I know it can be a pest, but you can see why it was originally introduced as an ornamental!

[treecreeper]

Giant hogweed is common in Cheshire, especially on the lower parts of the River Dee

[AlanS]

The latest taxonomic account of giant hogweeds in Britain claims we have three species here (though not everyone is going to agree).

Possibly the commonest of these, apparently now to be called Heracleum trachyloma, is given as reaching heights of 5 metres!

Study of the group is said to be hindered, though, by a severe lack of complete pressed specimens.
Strange ...

Alan