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Archive for the ‘Poison Hemlock’ Category

Poison Hemlock – Alert

Sunday, May 16th, 2010

My colleague Dana Coggon, Kitsap’s Noxious Weed Coordinator, asked me to pass this very important information on to our Kitsap Sun Readers.

Poison Hemlock is on the increase in Puget Sound and it resembles parsley, carrot tops and other edible vegetables and herbs. But it can kill and/or make a person extremely ill. Please read carefully what Dana has to share with us and also view the King 5 News link provided in this warning from Dana.

If you cannot access the video one of the staff at our Kitsap Regional Library system branches can help you access it.

Here’s a photo of the stems with the purple dots:

Here’s the information from Dana Coggon:

“Some noxious weeds are more than just an ecological issue.
Not only does hemlock invade areas and destroy habitat but it can also cause human and animal deaths. What can you do to help protect our County from this aggressive deadly killer? Let the noxious weed control board know about where you have seen poison hemlock, check out the Kitsap County noxious weed control programs web site: http://kitsap.wsu.edu/noxious_weed/poison_hemlock.htm

We know that there are locations with of Poison hemlock throughout Bainbridge Island, a few sites are scattered in central Kitsap and new sites have been identified in South Kitsap over the last year.

Here’s the link for the King 5 News segment:

http://www.king5.com/news/local/Hemlock-may-have-caused-Tacoma-womans-death-93292179.html

If you think you have some poison hemlock on your property please take some digital photos and send them to the noxious weed control program for verification! Be cautious when touching this plant as some people may have an allergic reaction, and make sure to wash your hands throughly after handling any portions of the plant.

Please be on the look out.”
Dana – dcoggon@co.kitsap.wa.us

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