[botany] giant hogweed, a horrifyingly-invasive tree-sized white flower covered in spines brimming with a poison so strong it will permanently disfigure you if your skin brushes against it, has a Latin name that references 1) Hercules and 2) cocaine

I've never seen one of these, but that's intense

wow

(the only thing I know about the giant hogweed offhand is that Genesis wrote a song about it taking over England)

yeah, when they wrote that there was a lot more of it than there is now and it's still a ubiquitous sight in the Uk

in the mid-to-late 70s there was a cleanup and education campaign. but, as a kid, Dad used to actually break off bits of the dead plant (which goes dry and harmless) to make hollow blow guns

keep in mind that the poison from this stuff will make you permanently allergic to the sun, and if it gets in your eyes, will permanently blind you.

christ