New Jersey isn't called "The Garden State" for nothing.

Our state is among the top 10 producers of blueberries, cranberries, peaches, tomatoes, bell peppers, eggplant, cucumbers, apples, spinach, squash, and asparagus. Hungry yet?

Jersey is also home to a freakish toxic plant that can be painful if touched. It's also been known to cause blindness in some cases.

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This plant was first identified in the early 1900s and has been spotted in Connecticut, Indiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and now, New Jersey.

Even the name of the plant is scary. Giant Hogweed. Yikes.

Everything about giant hogweed is unique. The one upside is that it's not too hard to spot.

I, Liné1, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Giant hogweed has been known to grow as big as over 16 feet. You'll notice the unique colors—a bright green stem with reddish-purple hues and white hairs.

Check out the seeds.

Steve Hurst, hosted by the USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

One plant can produce as many as 20,000 tiny seeds and travel by wind. After that, they can lie dormant in the soil for years.

That's why contacting environmental officials is crucial if you've spotted a giant hogweed.

Fritz Geller-Grimm, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

This is what a full-sized giant hogwart plant typically looks like.

How is a giant hogweed plant poisonous?

The New Jersey Department of Agriculture says:

This skin reaction, known as photodermatitis, is due to the Furocoumarins that are present in the sap. The initial symptoms of Giant Hogweed photodermatitis arise within 24 to 48 hours of exposure to the sap and include itchiness, redness, heat, swelling, and blistering. Plant juices also can produce painless red blotches that later develop into purplish or brownish scars that may persist for several years. For an adverse reaction to occur, the skin, once contaminated with plant juices, must be moist (perspiration) and then exposed to sunlight. Contact with the eyes can cause temporary or possibly permanent blindness.

Department of Environmental Conversation