Poison Hemlock
Conium maculatum
From FirstNature
The purple-spotted stems and fern-like leaves are distinctive features of this extremely poisonous umbellifer. It grows on the edges of woods and sometimes on waste ground, and it prefers damp soils.
Hemlock is often quite a tall plant: it can occasionally reach head height. Because all parts of this umbellifer are so poisonous, the hollow stems should under no circumstances be used to make peashooters. The flowers appear in June and July.
The lethal dose for a human being is 0.15 g. It causes nausea and vomiting, movement- and speech retardation; the pupils dilate, which is followed by characteristic rising paralysis of the limbs and eventually paralysis of the thoracic muscles, leading to death.
"P"LIST
Hemlock is an annual or biennial weed widespread in Europe. It has an unpleasant smell, a hollow stem with red spots and small white blossoms. All parts of the plant are very poisonous, which is due to the alkaloid coniin.
HOME