Sap from invasive weed in Saskatchewan can burn skin
If you want proof of Mother Nature’s wrath, look no further than the wild parsnip in Saskatchewan.
While it sounds like an innocent vegetable, it’s actually a weed with devilish properties.
If you gently rub against it, the effects are like poison ivy. If you try to pull it, you could suffer ill health effects for the next three years, according to Chet Neufeld, Chair of the Saskatchewan Invasive Species Council and Treasurer of the Canadian Council on Invasive Species.
“You’d get something similar to a third-degree burn. So you’d have oozing, open sores, and blistering. And these side effects could continue up to three years,” Neufeld told CBC Saskatchewan’s Afternoon Edition.
He says you’d have to stay out of the sun for those three years, too. Any time your skin would be exposed to sun, the effects would recur.
Wild parsnip has spread across the province, with the worst area being between Saskatoon and Prince Albert in the Duck Lake area.
If you got the oil from the plant on your hands and rubbed your eyes, it would feel like pepper spray and could cause temporary blindness.
Kimchi and Justice 