Re: Castor Beans and poison hemlock

Poison hemlock, Conium maculatum, is present in temperate areas worldwide, including parts of Australia. It looks like a giant carrot plant, about 2 metres or more high with purple blotches on the stems and umbels of white flowers. These blotches have been a simple enough identifying mark for my children, and now my grandchildren, to identify and avoid touching the plant.

The child who died had not swallowed the bit of leaf she had in her mouth. The plant, the same one Socrates was killed with, paralyses the respiratory muscles. From what I have read, children have also been poisoned, but not necessarily killed, by using the dead hollow stalks as a peashooter.

As though we don't already have more than enough of it, I have seen its seeds offered for sale in some herbal seedlists.


--
Diane Whitehead Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
maritime zone 8
cool mediterranean climate (dry summer, rainy winter - 68 cm annually)
sandy soil

Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index