![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://uknews.evprotec.com/the-dangerous-plants-lurking-in-plain-sight/&media=https://uknews.evprotec.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/130341527_deadly-n-alamy.jpg&description=Image source, Vikki Irwin/BBC Image caption, Hemlock, which can be fatal if ingested, was found growing along a path near a village school On Monday, it emerged children's lives were "at stake" in a Suffolk village after hemlock - a plant that can be fatal if ingested - was found along their normal walk into school. Hemlock, however, is far from our only green neighbour that poses a risk. The Bucklesham hemlock's days are numbered. First reported to Suffolk County Council in June by parish council chairman David Brinkley, the authority has pledged to close the road and remove the offending plant. In his call to action, Mr Brinkley says delays to the plant's removal "put children's lives at stake". Image caption, The alkaloids in Hemlock cause violent vomiting and paralysis of the nervous system, with death usually due to respiratory failure Head teacher Rachael Rudge has similar concerns. "To walk on the roads because the path isn't safe because of all the hemlock and vegetation overgrowing, they're being put in this really difficult and unsafe position," she says. But according to Prof Iain Barr, of the , the removal of the hemlock leaves a further 28,000 still dotted around the UK. Prof Barr, a professor of field ecology, tells the BBC about a number of other dangerous plants sitting in plain sight and why some pose such a threat. Image caption, The toxic sap of the giant hogweed, which grows near canals and rivers, can cause burns, blisters and scarring to those who come into contact The giant hogweed - Heracleum mantegazzianum - is not to be messed with, says Prof Barr. "If you touch it and your body reacts to it, it can cause a reaction and makes you very susceptible to sunburn," Prof Barr says. "You don't want to come into contact with any part of it." The toxic sap of the plant, which grows near canals and rivers, can cause burns, blisters and scarring to those who touch it. The plant, a close relative of cow parsley, has white flowers, thick bristly stems an){kind=link}
On Monday, it emerged children’s lives were “at stake” in a Suffolk village after hemlock – a plant that can be fatal if ingested – was found along their normal walk into school. Hemlock, however, is far from our only green neighbour that poses a risk.
The Bucklesham hemlock’s days are numbered.
First reported to Suffolk County Council in June by parish council chairman David Brinkley, the authority has pledged to close the road and remove the offending plant.
In his call to action, Mr Brinkley says delays to the plant’s removal “put children’s lives at stake”.
Head teacher Rachael Rudge has similar concerns.