NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Sometimes things are not as they appear.

That's the case with hemlock, a plant that appears as a pretty wildflower, but is actually very toxic.

Now, a Metro councilman is working to get rid of the plant in his district.

Hemlock plants are everywhere. In Donelson and Hermitage, you can find them along Lebanon Pike, in most parks, and in a lot of neighborhoods.

District 14's Jordan Huffman says they're spreading like wildfire thanks to all the rain received in the last few weeks.

Unlike poison ivy, touching the hemlock plant won't cause a physical reaction—you have to ingest it for anything bad to happen.

However, because of its high toxicity to humans, Huffman is asking NDOT's horticulture director to take action and start getting rid of the plant.

They're considering a few options, according to Huffman.

"You can manually remove it, but you have to be very, very careful, because that involves digging up or pulling out the entire plant. There is so much hemlock in Davidson County and public roadways that I don't know if that's going to be an option that's feasible. So very likely they'll use some sort of herbicide," Huffman said.

There are many plants that look similar to hemlock, so Huffman told News 2 a good way to identify the plant is to look for purple spots on its stems.

News Source : https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/middle-tn-neighborhood-news/poison-hemlock-removal-push-by-councilman/