Poison hemlock (Conium maculatum)
Description: A herb in the carrot family that grows 3'-8' tall, with an erect branched stem in the second year of growth. Flowers and foliage resemble carrot and parsley, and have a parsnip-like odor when crushed.
Life cycle: Biennial
Habitat: Grows in dry to most soils and is often found near roadsides. Field borders, hiking trails, railroad tracks, stream banks, irrigation ditches, waste areas, riparian woodlands and open floodplains of rivers and streams.
Leaf: Leaves are shiny green, pinnately compound, and fern-like, 8"-16" in length. Bases of lower leaves form a sheath that encircles the stem.
Stem: Stems are stout, hollow, ridged and purple spotted.
Flower: Flowers are small, white, and borne in umbrella-shaped cluster about 3" across.
Fruit: Ridged and flattened seeds.
Root: Thick, white, branched taproot, with a well-developed fiberous root system.
The problem is….all plant parts are poisonous; however, the seeds contain the highest concentration of poison. It contains highly poisonous alkaloids toxic to all classes of livestock and humans. It may act as a pioneer species quickly colonizing disturbed sites and displacing natives.
