Wild parsnip war waged as City of Ottawa promotes wearing protective goggles and gloves

[Wild parsnip/CBC News]

The City of Ottawa is going all-out against the wild parsnip, marking a second year in its attempt to curb the spread of what it considers a dangerous, invasive plant.

Last year, it spent $100,000 to spray municipal properties and this year, it’s going to toss $200,000 to mow and spray it in early spring. What’s so dangerous about this weed? Well, when its sap comes in contact with your skin and then is exposed to sunlight, it can burn and cause blisters.

“You can get serious burns, and some people have had lasting scars — especially people who have gotten it around their eyes,” conservation biologist Tom Beaubiah told Yahoo Canada News. “It’s not really that scary but you’ve got to take precautions because it’s been spreading along roadways, paths and fields where lots of people [can be exposed to it].”

Wild parsnip blooms in every part of Canada, except Nunavut, and is particularly abundant in Southern and Eastern Ontario. Brought to Canada in the 1600s by European settlers, it’s grown as a food — i.e., it’s a root vegetable.

Beaubiah says he’s seen a lot more of it in the last few years and believes it may be because field or road and pathway maintenance has been more lax.

“We used to maintain [road] shoulders and now we have allowed [weeds] to grow and then mowing it later in the year,” he explained. “With the wild parsnip, if you mow it later in the year, you’ve allowed it to seed [because it typically seeds from June to July]. You carry the seed with you and each plant has 400 seeds with 10 per cent that survive. That means 40 new plants and those seeds are viable for up to five years.”

Wild parsnip is in the same family as many plants — celery, parsley and limes — which contain a chemical compound called psorlaren. It’s this compound in the sap that, when exposed to UV light, triggers phytophotodermatitis, causing skin to sting, blister and burn.

Some wildlife experts have pooh-poohed the city’s strategy as “fear-mongering” and “excessive” — as Michael Runtz, who teaches at Carleton University and is the author of 10 books on the region’s wildlife, did in an Ottawa Sun report. But, Beaubiah isn’t so quick to criticize the efforts of city officials.

“It’s a chemical burn, unlike poison ivy, which causes an allergic reaction. So, it’s more hazardous as a weed,” noted Beaubiah, who has 15 years’ experience with the Cataraqui Region Conservation Authority in the Kingston, Ont., area.

Wear protective clothing

Indeed, the City of Ottawa goes as far as to tell people to “wear goggles, gloves, long pants and long-sleeved shirts” if walking through “dense vegetation.” There is a special warning for children to “not pick wild flowers.” Runtz told the Ottawa Sun he would never put on any of those items when going into the wilderness.

Yet, Beaubiah agrees with the municipal warnings.

“I know it sounds scary but you need to be aware of it and identify it.”

Wild parsnip has two growing stages: non-flowering leafy rosettes at ground level and then 0.5 to 1.5 metre-tall plants with small yellow flowers (appearing from June to late July).

The weed tends to group along shorelines, ditches, drainage areas, agricultural fields, beaches, trails, railway embankments, roadsides and waste areas, such as abandoned mines. Beaubiah points out that it doesn’t seem to grow in deep wilderness but in areas that have been cleared and have had much human activity.

If you are particularly concerned, you can access a mapping tool and app that has pinpointed where wild parsnip and other invasive species in Ontario have been sighted so far: http://www.eddmaps.org/ontario/

Beaubiah says if you come in contact with it and can’t wash if off immediately, cover it up and keep it away from the sun. Once you reach a wash station, rinse off the skin thoroughly with soap and water.

“You want to be especially diligent in washing if you have been sweating and your pores are open — which means the sap has really gotten deep into your skin.”

The Ontario Invasive Plant Council has more information about wild parsnip and has a sort of weed snitch line to call if you see large clumps of it (or any other invading species for that matter): (800)-563-7711.

And, if you’re in the Ottawa area, dial this hotline: 311.