Hogweed linked to Alexander Graham Bell

Nova Scotia may have the inventor of the telephone to thank for the spread of giant hogweed in the province.

Alexander Graham Bell, best known for inventing the telephone and for the first powered flight in Canada, spent summers in Baddeck, Cape Breton, for many years.

Sherman Boates, a scientist with the provincial Natural Resources Department, said that Bell may have planted Heracleum mantegazzianum, also known as giant hogweed, in his garden nearly a century ago.

"Some botanists have said that Alexander Graham Bell actually brought it to his garden," Boates said Tuesday.

Bell and his family built their Baddeck home, known as Beinn Bhreagh, in 1889, and spent many years there.

Boates said that perhaps the largest stand of giant hogweed in the province can still be found near Baddeck.

Although the giant hogweed has been on Cape Breton for a long time, Boates said people shouldn't ignore its danger, because it can be harmful to humans. Direct contact with the plant's sap can cause sensitivity to sunlight and UV rays, leading to severe skin and eye problems — including possible blindness.

"Once you identify it, if it's on your property, I would seriously consider having it removed," he said. "And the best way would be to contact a landscape, garden professional."

Boates said hogweed can be removed by either physical or chemical means.

Hogweed, which has a white flower similar to Queen Anne's lace, can grow up to six metres tall.

It was introduced to North America in the early 1900s as an ornamental garden plant. It was first identified in Nova Scotia in the 1980s.