Western and Spotted Water-Hemlock Water-Hemlock vs. Water Parsnip Water-Hemlock, the most poisonous plant in North Amer- deaths have occurred from people mistaking Water-Hemlock for edible • Water Parsnip (Sium suave) has can culinary favorite. Parsnips are suitable ica, is found in all parts of Lincoln County, along streams, members of the carrot family and from children putting the hollow a very similar ecology to Western for almost any method of cooking includ- ponds, irrigation ditches, wet pastures, and marshy areas. It stems into their mouths. Death can occur in as short as 15 minutes, Water-Hemlock in that it too is ing baking, boiling, sauteing and steam- is a threat to humans, livestock and animals that eat any part although 3 to 4 hours is more common. Western Water-Hemlock found in wet meadows and ing. They are often boiled, then mashed of the plant or drink water from a standing pool of water There are two forms of Water-Hemlock in Lincoln County: the more- seedling and hollow root thickets, as well as along muddy like potatoes. Water Parsnip near the plant. prevalent Western Water-Hemlock, Cicuta douglasii; and Spotted Wa- shores. Both are native, indige- Water-Hemlock contains the unsaturated alcohol cicutoxin ter-Hemlock, Cicuta maculate L., so-called due to purple spots along nous perennials from the • The first frost of the year converts the that is found in all parts of the plant, but especially in the the stems and leaf nodes. Both are native, perennial forbs and are not Apiaceae (parsley/carrot) family. parsnip's starch to sugar and gives it a • Europeans brought the parsnip pleasantly sweet flavor. roots and base of the stem. All animals, in- on the state noxious weed list. cluding humans, are highly susceptible to to the United States in the early • Due to the difficulty in clearly identifying Poison Hemlock, Conium maculatum, another poison- the potent cicutoxin, one of the most poi- 1600s, but this creamy-white similar plants from the Apiaceae family, it ous perennial also common in Lincoln County, is on sonous plant toxins known. The poison root has never become an Ameri- is best to use caution and due diligence. the state weed list, and so control is mandated. Please causes severe refer to “Poison stimulation Hemlock: Op- Comparing Western Water-Hemlock with Water Parsnip and finally pa- tions for Con- ralysis of the trol” for more Western Water-Hemlock Bulbs Water Parsnip nervous sys- information on this noxious weed. tem. Fatal poisoning and death While control of Western Water- Western Water-Hemlock Water Parsnip has a sym- occurs quickly and with rela- Hemlock and Spotted Water- has an asymmetrical bulb metrical root with large tively small quantities of the Hemlock are not mandated by the plant. A piece of root the size of with narrow chambers con- chambers containing no oil, weed board, landowners are en- a walnut can kill a cow. Some couraged to avoid inadvertent taining a clear oil and it has fibrous roots Distribution of Western Water-Hemlock, 30-60 grams of the root are poisonings and deaths due to in- (cicutoxin) which turns Cicuta douglasii which anchor the bulb into enough to kill a horse. Human gestion of either plant. bright orange when it is ex- the soil. posed to the air. The bulb Western Water-Hemlock Managing Western Water-Hemlock has fleshy side roots that Western Water-Hemlock are the allow the bulb to float in • Western Water-Hemlock is a problem on rangelands be- only methods to prevent live- times of high water. cause of its toxicity. stock loss from poisoning. Graz- Western Water-Hemlock Leaves Water Parsnip ing of these areas should be de- • The forb is one of the first layed until the ground has dried, Western Water-Hemlock Water Parsnip has simple, plants to emerge in the so whole plants are not easily has compound leaves opposite leaves with the spring, making it attractive to pulled out of the ground by live- with the veins usually veins ending at the leaf Distinctive veined leaves grazing animals. The plant is stock. ending in the notches tips. likely to be grazed because of Western Water-Hemlock in bloom along the leaf margins. its green growth, and attrac- • Controlling access of animals to habitats where the herb grows The arrow in the second tive smell (unlike Poison Hemlock which has a musty may reduce the risk of poison- photo shows the vein smell). ing. ending at the notches of • Hand grubbing and chemical the leaf margin. • Western Water-Hemlock grows where water is abun- application are the most effec- Western Water-Hemlock Flower Head Water Parsnip dant, and such areas usually tive methods of removing the receive heavy grazing pres- plant. Roots must be completely Western Water-Hemlock Water Parsnip has white- sure. Increased grazing pres- removed from the site if grub- Distinctive leaves has white-to-greenish- colored flowers formed in sure leads to livestock con- bing or cultivation are used for colored flowers formed an umbrel. It has bracts suming much of the available control, as roots are attractive to in a compound umbrel (leaves at the base of large forage. grazing livestock. (umbrella-shaped flower umbrel and at the base of Western Water-Hemlock’s asymmetrical bulb and tuber- • Western Water-Hemlock is • Chemical application is best head). It is bractless (no small umbrels making up ous roots easily pulled out of the done in late spring or early sum- leaves at the base of the the flower head). ground in moist areas where mer when the herb is growing. flower heads). the ground is soft, and grazers Application of 2,4-D or gly- may consume the whole phosate at 2 pounds an acre, or plant. picloram at 1 pound an acre Blossoms of Western Water-Hemlock will give good control of West- Lincoln County Noxious Weed Control Board Photos courtesy of Brad Kelley, Jed and Bonnie McClellan, Robyn Klein, Alfred Brousseau, Robert H. Western and Spotted • Control and avoidance of 405 Ross Street Page 4 Mohlenbrock, USDA, Janet Novak, BC Ministry of Agriculture and Lands. Brochure prepared by Rob Chandler. ern Water-Hemlock. Davenport, Wash. 99122 Water-Hemlock 509-725-3646 Biology of Water-Hemlock • Scientificdouglasii; Name : Western leaflets. Toxicity of Water-Hemlock Water-Hemlock: Circuta • Flowers & Seeds: Greenish-white and • Water-Hemlock roots contain 0.75 some success are intravenous injec- Spotted Water- grouped in umbrella-shaped clusters. mg of cicutoxin per gram of root tion of pentobarbital and mor- Hemlock: Cicuta maculata. Each flower is two-seeded, and the tea- material. phine to control convulsions. • Origin: North America: colored seeds are somewhat kidney- • Symptoms of cicutoxin poisoning Spotted Water-Hemlock umbrel Distribution of Cicuta maculata • Lethal doses of cicutoxin by per- Poison Hemlock USA, Canada. See maps. shaped with corky ridges. Seeds dis- form of Spotted Water- cent of body weight are: sheep: 0.2- in humans are similar to those re- perse by way of wind, water, machin- • Where Found: Only in wet Spotted Water-Hemlock 0.5%; cattle: 0.1%; horses: 0.5%; ported for livestock. From 1900- ery, on clothing and through trans- places: marshes, stream banks swine: 0.3%. 1980, 88 people died in North ported soil. Seeds are covered with a slough margins, ditches, wet America from cicutoxin poisoning. spongy coat that allows the seed to • Effects of cicutoxin are rapid, with pastures. • A single bite of the root or 2.8 mg float until it is saturated with water. death occurring 15 minutes after cicutoxin/kg of body weight is a • Identification: Often called Flooding speads the seeds. The seeds ingestion, leaving little time for lethal dose for humans. “Cowbane.” A perennial forb germinate in spring and form a ro- Western Water-Hemlock treatment. Treatments used with in the carrot-parsley sette. Flowers mature near the end of (Apiaceae) family that grows 2 June. Rootstalks may also break off Comparing Western Water-Hemlock with Poison Hemlock to 8 feet tall with hollow, forming new plants. smooth, pale green stems • Root: Thick, tuberous rootstalk that Western Water-Hemlock Poison Hemlock (purple spots on Spotted Wa- Bulbs contains many small chambers. The ter-Hemlock), enlarged at the hollow chambers allow the plant to Western Water-Hemlock Poison Hemlock has Distinctive leaves and umbrels base. Very appealing odor. Umbrels of Cicuta maculata float in times of flooding. These cham- has an asymmetrical bulb smooth, branching • Leaves: Leaf veins usually end- bers hold a highly-poisonous clear, with narrow chambers stems that are hollow, ing in the notches brown or straw-colored liquid containing a clear oil with purple spots or along the leaf mar- called cicutoxin, that is released (cicutoxin) which turns blotches especially gins, or the bottom when the stem is broken or cut. bright orange when it is of leaf serrations, Cicutoxin has a strong carrot- near the base. There and not at the tips. exposed to the air. The are no hairs on the Hollow chambers in root hold like odor. Thick, fleshy tubers highly-toxic liquid poison. Several lance-shaped and slender individual roots second photo shows its stem. The root is a to oblong, sharply- grow from the bottom of the tuberous roots. simple carrot-like tap pointed, toothed main rootstalk. root. Western Water-Hemlock Leaves Poison Hemlock Toxicity of Water-Hemlock Western Water- Poison Hemlock is • Water-Hemlock is considered central nervous system. Hemlock has com- a coarse, erect, 4-6 the most toxic plant in the • Roots are most poisonous early in the pound leaves with feet-tall, biennial or United States since so little of growing season. Cicutoxin rapidly the veins usually perennial plant. Its it needs to be consumed to Cicuta maculata is often called decomposes at temperatures above 95 Spotted Water-Hemlock due to ending in the leaves are 3-4 times Water-Hemlock along the cause death. Humans have degrees F. The herb may contain more the purple spots on stem nodes. notches along the pinnately dissected, roadside, steps from children been killed after only one or Western Water-Hemlock cicutoxin in the spring and fall. two bites of what they thought leaf margins. on the left and Poison coarsely toothed were “parsnips.” • Always wear gloves when handling the Hemlock on the right. with a fern-like ap- plant. Always sanitize knives that may • Cicutoxin is the toxin that pearance. have come in contact with this plant. makes Water-Hemlock so poi- Western Water-Hemlock Flower Head Poison Hemlock sonous. • Cattle are the primary species affected, Western Water- hence the name “cowbane.” Animals Poison Hemlock has • A consumption of 0.1 percent Hemlock, in only the have been poisoned by drinking water a compound flat- of body weight of the green first photo, has white-to- contaminated by trampled Water- topped, loose, umbel Spotted Water-Hemlock seed material (leaves and stems) is greenish-yellow-colored Hemlock roots. Pools of water by Wa- lethal. However, the oil in a with multiple, small, ter-Hemlock are probably just as flowers formed in a com- single bulb is enough to kill a white-5-petaled flow- deadly as the plant itself. pound umbrel. It is 1,600-pound cow. ers. Fruits are grey- • Symptoms of the early stages of Spotted Water-Hemlock, bractless (no leaves at the • Cicutoxin is a yellowish liq- brown ovoid, ridged cicutoxin-poisoning are excessive sali- Cicuta maculata, with purple base of the flower uid that oozes from cut roots. stem nodes on plant stems. and easily separated vation, frothing at the mouth, nerv- heads). It is concentrated in secretory Lincoln County into two parts. ousness, and incoordination. Later Noxious Weed Control Board canals in the rootstocks. The stages of poisoning bring about trem- 405 Ross Street The hollow, bulbous root of toxin is a highly-unsaturated Davenport, Wash. 99122 Lincoln County Noxious Weed Control Board Western and Spotted ors, muscular weakness, seizures, and Page 3 both forms of Water-Hemlock higher alcohol that acts on the 509-725-3646 405 Ross Street, P.O. Box 241, Davenport, Wash. 99122 509-725-3646 Water-Hemlock respiratory failure.