Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Giant hogweed hotspots in Tayside and Fife

hogweed fife
Giant hogweed on the banks of the River Eden in Cupar in 2017

Government environment agency NatureScot has issued warnings to avoid giant hogweed ahead of the summer holidays.

The plant can cause severe skin blisters and even blindness.

But where are the hotspots in Tayside and Fife?

Our information shows where there has been a confirmed finding of hogweed in Tayside or Fife. However, that may have been subsequently removed by professionals.

Nevertheless, these are the areas in which to remain cautious when out and about.

Dundee

Giant hogweed is most common in Dundee along the Dighty Burn.

It has also been discovered at Riverside Nature Park.

In the city centre, a sighting was also confirmed near the Kieller Centre.

David Young is north east manager for Complete Weed Control.

A screenshot of WhatShed’s Giant Hogweed map, showing hotspots in Tayside and Fife.

He said the most common environment for giant hogweed is along rivers and burns.

“We’ve had to remove a lot of it along the Dighty Burn over the years.

“The seeds can travel downstream and it takes over an area when it becomes established, to the expense of ground-cover species.”

Angus

The invasive species was recently found near Monifieth High School.

A recent discovery has also been made near the A923 at the edge of Muirhead.

Historically, the Montrose Basin was a hotspot as well as along the South Esk heading towards Brechin.

Fife

David and his team have had to remove giant hogweed from Strathmiglo, near Falkland.

“There was a lot growing there,” he said.

Another Fife hogweed hotspot is along the Lyne Burn on the outskirts of Charlestown.

And a sighting was recently confirmed along the Brankholm Burn on the eastern edge of Rosyth.

Perth & Kinross

David said he has had to remove a lot of the plant along the Earn and Almond rivers in rural Perthshire.

He said there are “various spots” along the River Tay as well.

There is reported hogweed near Bellwood Riverside Park in Perth.

The data also shows smatterings of the plant along the Tay bank to the south-east of the city.

Outside of the Fair City, sightings have also been reported south of Crieff and west of Aberfeldy along the B846.

Why you should avoid hogweed

When contact is made with the skin, a toxin in the plant makes skin sensitive to sunlight.

This will cause severe blisters and burns.

David said: “It’s important people can identify it so they can teach their kids to avoid it.

“It has a thick stem, so youngsters might be tempted to break it off and use it as a toy sword.”

Giant Hogweed near the Dighty Burn in Dundee – one of Tayside and Fife’s hotspots.

NatureScot invasive species policy manger Stan Whitaker said it is “relatively easy” to identify because of its two to four metre height and large white clusters of flowers up to 80cm wide.

He added: “Its leaves are very large and sharply divided and can be over one metre across while the stems are green with purple blotches and covered with bristly hairs.”

I used data from the National Biodiversity Network and WhatShed.co.uk – which has been collating findings since the government-led project Plant Tracker closed.

Conversation