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Gretchen Steele: Dangerous plants lurking on Illinois trails, roadsides, streambanks

Gretchen Steele's "big six" of noxious and toxic weeds are Giant Hogweed, Poison Hemlock, Spotted Water Hemlock, Cow Parsnip (pictured), Wild Parsnip, and Queen Anne’s Lace. (USFWS photo)

If you spend any time hiking, hunting, fishing, or working outdoors in Illinois, you’ve likely passed within inches of some deceptively beautiful but hazardous plants.

These plants, with their umbrella-shaped white or yellow flowers, are more common than you might think. They might catch your eye along a shaded trail or the edge of a creek, but some of them can send you to the emergency room – or worse. I just wanted to scream the other day as I drove along several of our county roads.

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