Question 8

Is it poisonous or dangerous?

Dangerous, Poisonous Plants that Kill Humans

Much of the weediness of both Poison hemlock, Conium maculatum and Spotted waterhemlock, Cicuta maculata, comes from the dangerous toxins they contain. Their poisons can kill people who mistake the weeds for a benign Parsley or Parsnip, eat them, then die; or children who make straws from their hollow stems and then put the straws to their mouth then die; or cattle that graze on them inadvertently and die.

Socrates, the 4th century B.C. Greek philosopher, died from drinking Poison hemlock, Conium maculatum, a death penalty imposed by his government as punishment for free thinking, hence one common name: “Socrates’ bane”. People who find and recognize Poison hemlock rarely wax philosophical about it, and generally remove it before it kills them, their pets or their livestock. It differs from its more deadly cousin, Spotted waterhemlock, Cicuta maculata, in its ability to grow in dry, fertile, gravelly soils as well as in wetlands, in the ferny look of its leaves, in the necessity to consume more of it to die, and in the more peaceful, even “humane” death it causes.

Poison hemlock and its lethal cousin, Spotted waterhemlock, kill several people each year in the U.S. Poison hemlock can also irritate the skin of those who pick it, perhaps mistaking it for Queen Anne’s lace, so use gloves to remove it. Do not compost this weed, since so many parts of it contain poison and can remain toxic even 3 years after the plant is pulled out.

Recognition of this toxic plant can save a life, so here’s more on how to know it when you see it.