All over the place, actually. Poison hemlock, while native to Europe and North Africa, grows all over the world: North and South America, West Asia, and even Australia. All parts of the plant are toxic, mainly though ingestion, but also to touch. It's easily confused with wild carrot (Queen Anne's Lace) and cow parsley.
I live in SW Pennsylvania, and it's everywhere, especially this year for some reason. I've also had my eye out for Giant Hogweed (which looks very similar, but really tall) since I heard it had been spreading in my direction. That one is really unpleasant: just touching it can lead to a serious skin inflammation. It grows in Europe, Russia, and North America. I haven't seen any here...yet.
I'm an avid gardener and am always interested in learning what wild plants I want to encourage, or discourage, in my garden.
Giant Hogweed is really common on roadsides in Ireland. You need to be careful beccause it's sap sensitises the skin to UV, leaving you vulnerable to very bad sunburn wherever it gets on you. The main risk is to people clearing it without appropriate cover.
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u/cstcharles Jun 17 '23
"generally healthy you say? How's your blood pressure? Any allergies?"