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Flowers (dead) and green leaves
Plant in the fall
Cicuta maculata
Common Name: Water Hemlock
Family: Apiaceae
Description: A highly poisonous plant that can cause death from even a very small quantity. (Its roots are sometimes mistaken for parsnips and other common root crops) A highly branched, erect plant with dome-shaped umbels that grow from tubers or seeds.
Leaves: Lanceolate, sharply-toothed, leaves are pinnately 2-3 times compound; 5-7 cm long (basal); leaflets 1.5-3 cm long
Flowers: Small, white 5-petaled flowers arranged into loose compound umbels, from 5 to 20 cm wide
Seeds: Fruits are ovoid and ribbed on the outer surface with 2 seeds
Stem: Solitary or few together; from a tuberous-thickened and chambered base; conspicuously hollow above the base; erect; branched; hairy; purple striped
Branching Pattern: Alternate leaves
Height: 7-17 cm
Conditions/Habitat/Kind of Forest: Wet meadows, thickets, marshes, shores, stream banks, and freshwater swamps
Range: Throughout North America
Hardiness Zone: Hardy to USDA zone 3
Conservation Status-US/ World Wide: Not threatened
Uses (Human): Poisonous
References:
Aquatic and Wetland Vascular Plants of the Northern Great Plains. February 23, 2005. Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center. Accessed: November 29, 2005. <http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/plants/vascplnt/species/cmacu.htm>
Rook, E. Aquatic Plants Of the North: Cicuta maculata. February 26, 2004. Accessed: November 29, 2005. <http://www.rook.org/earl/bwca/nature/aquatics/cicutamac.html>
Thieret, John W. National Audubon Society Field Guide to Wildflowers: Eastern Region (Rev. Ed.). New York: Alfred A. Knopf Inc., 2001.
Water Hemlock (Cicuta maculata L.) January 21, 2005. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's Veterinary Medicine Library. Accessed: November 29, 2005. <http://www.library.uiuc.edu/vex/toxic/whemlock/whemlck0.htm>