(NEXSTAR) — The definition of a weed is relatively vague — a plant growing where you don’t want it, experts explain — but some earn an extra adjective to describe them: noxious.

That term has a federal definition, thanks to the Plant Protection Act: “any plant or plant product that can directly or indirectly injure or cause damage to crops (including nursery stock or plant products), livestock, poultry, or other interests of agriculture, irrigation, navigation, the natural resources of the United States, the public health, or the environment.”

One such massive, noxious weed may be growing in your yard, waiting to burn you if you try to remove it too quickly.

Heracleum mantegazzianum, better known as giant hogweed, has been present in the U.S. for more than a century, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Invasive Species Information Center.

Native to parts of Asia, researchers believe hogweed may have been brought to the U.S. as an ornamental garden option “because of its extremely large size and impressive flower.” It’s also possible its seeds, common in Middle Eastern cuisine, were among spice imports.

Nonetheless, the giant hogweed has found its way around the country. The plant has been positively identified in several states, including Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Maine,

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