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Deadly☠️ To avoid

☠️ Water hemlock

Cicuta maculata · Apiaceae

🍁 North America
🧠 To remember it'Any white umbel near water is guilty until proven innocent' — never harvest any wild Apiaceae without absolute certainty of identification.
Water hemlock — Cicuta maculata

🔍 Identify it without mistakes

Wetland plant from the wild carrot family, featuring stems often mottled or streaked with purple, twice or thrice compound leaves with serrated leaflets, and large, flat white umbels typical of the Apiaceae family. Described by the USDA as 'the most violently toxic plant that grows in North America'. Slicing open the tuberous root releases a characteristic parsnip- or celery-like smell that is deceptively appealing.

  1. stem often mottled/streaked with purple
  2. tuberous rootstock in a chain, sectioned to reveal yellowish chambered cavities exuding an oily liquid
  3. flat white umbel typical of Apiaceae
  4. almost always grows with its feet in the water or in waterlogged soil
Size1-2 m
Floweringjuin-août
Habitatmarshes, stream banks, wet ditches, soggy meadows, widespread across North America

⚠️ Not to be confused with

Wild parsnip, cow parsnip, and other edible Apiaceae (diverses Apiacées)water hemlock is deadly, unlike edible Apiaceae

To tell them apart: NEVER forage any white-umbelled Apiaceae without 100% positive identification by an expert — the family contains edible wild carrots, parsnips, and parsley, BUT ALSO the two most deadly plants in North America's flora (water hemlock and poison hemlock); when in doubt, never eat it

Sources (4)

No entry replaces a certain identification in the field, or medical advice. When in doubt: don't eat it. If ingestion is suspected: poison control or 112/911.