Ontario Weeds: Spotted water hemlock
Return to the Ontario Weeds Gallery
Excerpt from Publication 505, Ontario Weeds,
Order this publication
Table of Contents
- Name
- Other Names
- Family
- General Description
- Stems and Roots
- Leaves
- Flowers and Fruit
- Habitat
- Similar Species
- Caution
- Related Links
Name: Spotted water-hemlock, Cicuta
maculata L.,
Other Names: carotte à Moreau,
Beaver poison, Musquash-root, Poison parsnip, Spotted cowbane, Spotted-hemlock,
Water-hemlock, cicutaire maculée
Family: Carrot Or Parsley Family (Umbelliferae)
General Description: Perennial, reproducing
only by seed.
Spotted water hemlock (A - plants in a marshy area; B - plants before flowering showing twice-compound leaves and horizontal thickened tuberous roots).
Stems & Roots: Stems erect, 1-2m
(3-6½ft) high, hollow except for a partition at each node,
round or slightly angular with purplish lengthwise streaks; base
of stem slightly swollen and usually with several, narrow cross-partitions
separating thin cavities, these visible by splitting the lower stem
lengthwise downwards through the base; the freshly split surfaces
usually soon developing little droplets of an amber or yellowish
oily secretion; the swollen base usually surrounded by 3 or more
fleshy, thickened, tuber-like roots which taper into long thin strands.
Leaves: Basal leaves at least twice
compound, that is, each leaf divided once into 3 or more parts and
each of these parts divided again into smaller parts or leaflets,
occasionally these again redivided into still smaller parts or leaflets;
the veins in each leaflet going to the notches between teeth on
the margins; leafstalk long, thin, often somewhat channeled and
always broadened at the base and partly surrounding the stem at
the node; stem leaves alternate (1 per node), usually twice compound
but leaves in the inflorescence frequently only once compound into
3 or 5 leaflets.
Flowers & Fruit: Flowers individually
small, white, in compound umbels at ends of the stems and branches,
1 large umbel made up of several small, simple umbels or umbelets;
each compound umbel flattish or rounded across the top and up to
12cm (5in.) in diameter but never spherical, usually without bracts
or with only 1 or 2 bracts at its base; fruit a pair of oval or
oblong, yellowish-brown "seeds" 2-4mm (1/12-1/6in.) long
with prominent, rounded, brownish, lengthwise ribs on the outer
surface. Flowers from June to August.
Habitat: Spotted water-hemlock is
a native plant throughout Ontario, occurring in wet meadows, pastures,
ditches, edges of streams and rivers, and swampy areas.
Similar Species: It is distinguished
by the combination of its twice-compound leaves, base of split stem
showing alternate narrow cross-partitions and thin cavities, and
thickened tuberous roots surrounding base of stem; also by its white
flowers in flattish compound umbels up to 12cm (5in.) across, these
without any or sometimes with 1 or 2 bracts immediately below the
umbel and the veins in each leaflet going to the notches between
teeth on the margins.
Caution: Spotted water-hemlock is the
most poisonous of all Canadian plants to both human beings and livestock,
all parts of the plant being poisonous. Extreme care must be taken
when pasturing areas where this plant grows, and in collecting wild
greens, roots or seeds for human consumption.
Related Links
... on general Weed
topics
... on weed identification, order OMAFRA
Publication 505: Ontario Weeds
... on weed control, order OMAFRA
Publication 75: Guide To Weed Control
For more information:
Toll Free: 1-877-424-1300
E-mail: ag.info.omafra@ontario.ca