Conium maculatum, colloquially known as hemlock, poison hemlock or wild hemlock, is a highly poisonous biennial herbaceous flowering plant in the carrot family Apiaceae, native to Europe and North Africa. A hardy plant capable of living in a variety of environments, hemlock is widely naturalized in locations outside its native range, such as parts of Australia, West Asia, and North and South America, to which it has been introduced. It is capable of spreading and thereby becoming an invasive weed.
Conium maculatum
Conium maculatum in California
Conservation status
Secure (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Plantae
Clade:
Tracheophytes
Clade:
Angiosperms
Clade:
Eudicots
Clade:
Asterids
Order:
Apiales
Family:
Apiaceae
Genus:
Conium
Species:
C. maculatum
Binomial name
Conium maculatum
L., 1753
Synonyms[1]
List
Cicuta major Lam.
Cicuta officinalis Crantz
Conium ceretanum Sennen
Conium cicuta (Crantz) Neck.
Conium croaticum Waldst. & Kit. ex Willd.
Conium divaricatum Boiss. & Orph.
Conium leiocarpum (Boiss.) Stapf
Conium maculosum Pall.
Conium nodosum Fisch. ex Steud.
Conium pyrenaicum Sennen & Elias
Conium sibiricum Steud.
Conium strictum Tratt.
Conium tenuifolium Mill.
Coriandrum cicuta Crantz
Coriandrum maculatum (L.) Roth
Selinum conium (Vest) E.L. Krause
Sium conium Vest
This article is about the herbaceous plant. For the genus of coniferous trees commonly called hemlock, see Tsuga.
All parts of the plant are toxic, especially the seeds and roots, and especially when ingested. Under the right conditions the plant grows quite rapidly during the growing season and can reach heights of 2.4 metres (8 feet), with a long penetrating root. The plant has a distinctive odour usually considered unpleasant that carries with the wind. The hollow stems are usually spotted with a dark maroon colour before the plant dies and becomes dry and brown after completing its biennial lifecycle. The hollow stems of this toxic plant are deadly for up to 3 years after the plant has died.
