Cicuta maculata

Cicuta maculata is a rhizomatous perennial herb producing a hollow erect stem that can reach a height of {{convert|1.8|m|ft|abbr=off|sp=us|frac=2}}.{{Cite book|title=The Complete Guide to Edible Wild Plants |publisher=Skyhorse Publishing |author=United States Department of the Army |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-60239-692-0 |location=New York |pages=143 |language=en-US |oclc=277203364}} The long leaves are made up of several lance-shaped, pointed, serrated leaflets. Each shiny green leaflet is {{convert|2|to|10|cm|abbr=off|sp=us|in|0}} long and the entire leaf may be up to {{convert|40|cm|in|0|abbr=on}} long. The inflorescence of white flowers is similar in appearance to other species in the carrot family. It is a compound umbel with many clusters of flowers. The dry tan-brown fruit is a few millimeters long.

The plant prefers wet habitats, such as wet meadows, roadside ditches, pond margins, open marshes, and freshwater swamps.{{cite web |title=Cicuta maculata |url=http://iowaplants.com/flora/family/Apiaceae/cicuta/c_maculata/Cicuta_maculata.html |website=iowaplants.com}}{{cite web |title=Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center - The University of Texas at Austin |url=https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=cima2 |website=www.wildflower.org}}{{cite web |title=Cicuta maculata page |url=http://www.missouriplants.com/Cicuta_maculata_page.html |website=www.missouriplants.com}} Flowering is from May to September.

The poisonous plant is occasionally mistaken for parsnips, due to its clusters of white tuberous roots.

{{gallery|mode=packed

|Cicuta maculata upper stem leaf, Water Hemlock, Howard County, Md, Helen Lowe Metzman 2018-07-17-13.31.32 ZS PMax UDR-Recovered (48602410012).jpg|Leaves

|Cicuta maculata - Flickr - aspidoscelis (1).jpg|Flower umbels

|Cicuta maculata 2, Water Hemlock, Howard County, Md, Helen Lowe Metzman 2018-07-17-12.52.39 ZS PMax UDR (49038651216).jpg|Close-up of flowers

}}

{{main|Cicuta toxicity}}

The confusion with parsnips can be fatal as C. maculata is extremely poisonous. It is considered to be North America's most toxic native plant.{{cite journal|vauthors=Schep LJ, Slaughter RJ, Becket G, Beasley DM|title=Poisoning due to water hemlock|journal=Clin Toxicol|volume=47|issue=4|pages=270–8|date=April 2009|pmid=19514873|doi=10.1080/15563650902904332|s2cid=21855822}}{{cite web|url=http://www.ars.usda.gov/Services/docs.htm?docid=9996|title=ARS|website=usda.gov}}[https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/whatever-you-do-do-not-eat-touch-or-even-inhale-the-air-around-the-manchineel-tree?ct=t(EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_08_14_2019)&mc_cid=c94f6d8e7d&mc_eid=34be11d5e3 'Do not eat, touch, or even inhale the air around the Machineel Tree' (Atlas Obscura)] Accessed 14 August 2019

Cicuta is fatal when swallowed, causing violent and painful convulsions. Though a number of people have died from water hemlock poisoning over the centuries, livestock have long been the worst affected (hence the name "cowbane"), with ingestion of the plant causing death in as little as 15 minutes.{{cite web|url=http://cal.vet.upenn.edu/poison/plants/ppwater.htm|title=Poison Plants (California Veterinary Association)|accessdate=10 July 2008|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070912225655/http://cal.vet.upenn.edu/poison/plants/ppwater.htm|archivedate=12 September 2007}}[http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=CIMA2 USDA Plants Profile]

The chief poison is cicutoxin, an unsaturated aliphatic alcohol that is most concentrated in the roots. Upon human consumption, nausea, vomiting, and tremors occur within 30–60 minutes, followed by severe cramps, projectile vomiting, and convulsions. Occasional long-term effects include retrograde amnesia.{{cite journal|last1=Costanza|first1=David J.|last2=Hoversten|first2=Vincent W.|year=1973|title=Accidental Ingestion of Water Hemlock|journal=Calif Med|volume=119|issue=2|pages=78–82|pmc=1455113|pmid=4726956}} Ingestion of water hemlock in any quantity can result in death or permanent damage to the central nervous system.

While the species as a whole is not under threat of extinction according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature and NatureServe,{{cite web|url=https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.150316/Cicuta_maculata|title=Cicuta maculata|website=NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data accessed through NatureServe Explorer|author=NatureServe|publisher=NatureServe|location=Arlington, Virginia|date=2 February 2024|access-date=7 February 2024}} the variety C. maculata var. victorinii (Victorin's water-hemlock) is a listed Species of Concern under Schedule 1 of the Canadian Species at Risk Act.{{cite web|url=https://species-registry.canada.ca/index-en.html#/species/268-343|title=Victorin's Water-hemlock (Cicuta maculata var. victorinii)|website=Species at risk public registry|publisher=Government of Canada|date=13 June 2023|access-date=7 February 2024}} According to a 2022 Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) report, Victorin's water-hemlock, the sole variety of C. maculata that grows in parts of tidal marshes with brackish exposure and regular tidal inundation,{{cite report|author=COSEWIC|year=2022|title=COSEWIC assessment and status report on the Victorin's Water-hemlock Cicuta maculata var. victorinii in Canada|publisher=Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada|location=Ottawa|access-date=7 February 2024|url=https://species-registry.canada.ca/index-en.html#/documents/426}}{{rp|7}} will soon qualify for threatened status if threats are not addressed. Victorin's water-hemlock is endemic to the St. Lawrence River estuary, which is in Canada.{{rp|7}}

Cicuta maculata possesses an extensive number of commons names.

;English

• Beaver poison
• Cicutaire (Canadian name)
• Musquash root
• Spotted hemlock{{cite book |last1=Fielder |first1=Mildred |title=Plant medicine and folklore |date=1975 |publisher=Winchester Press |location=New York |isbn=978-0-87691-205-8 |pages=238–239 |url=https://archive.org/details/plantmedicinefol00fiel/page/238 |access-date=4 October 2024}}
• Spotted water hemlock{{cite book |last1=Bubar |first1=Carol J. |last2=McColl |first2=Susan J. |last3=Hall |first3=Linda M. |title=Weeds of the Prairies |date=2000 |publisher=Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, Publishing Branch |location=Edmonton, Alberta |isbn=978-0-7732-6147-1 |page=106 |url=https://archive.org/details/weedsofprairies00buba/page/106 |access-date=4 October 2024 |language=English}}
• Spotted cowbane{{cite book |last1=Lampe |first1=Kenneth F. |last2=McCann |first2=Mary Ann |title=AMA Handbook of Poisonous and Injurious Plants |date=1985 |publisher=American Medical Association : Distributed by Chicago Review Press |location=Chicago, Illinois |isbn=978-0-89970-183-7 |page=56 |url=https://archive.org/details/amahandbookofpoi00lamp/page/56 |access-date=4 October 2024}}

;Seneca

• o’nö́hsë:ë’{{cite web |url=https://seneca-dictionary.com/search?word=water+hemlock+%28Cicuta+maulata%29. |title=Water Hemlock (Cicuta maulata). |editor-last1=Chafe |editor-first1=Wallace |website=Seneca Dictionary |publisher= |language=en, see |access-date=4 October 2024}}

• Conium maculatum

{{Reflist}}

{{commonscat}}

• [http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?329,363,365 Jepson Manual Treatment]
• [http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?query_src=photos_index&where-taxon=Cicuta+maculata Photo gallery]
• {{cite web |title=Water Hemlock: Cicuta maculata |url=https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/wetland/plants/water_hemlock.htm |website=Illinois Wildflowers}}
• {{cite web |last1=Fertig |first1=Walter |title=Water Hemlock (Cicuta maculata or Cicuta maculata {{small|(DC.) J.M. Coult. & Rose}}) |url=https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/plant-of-the-week/cicuta_maculata.shtml |publisher=U.S. Forest Service}}
• {{cite web |title=Cicuta maculata {{small|L.}} |url=https://gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/species/cicuta/maculata/ |website=Go Botany}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q5119480}}

Category:Apioideae

Category:Flora of Northern America

Category:Plants described in 1753

Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus