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Cicuta bulbifera
Also called Bulb-bearing water-hemlock, Bulbous water-hemlock, Bulbil Bearing Water Hemlock, Bulblet Water Hemlock, Water Hemlock
A native North American wetland perennial, one of four poisonous Cicuta (water hemlock) species, grown mainly in bogs and wet meadows. It is grown only as a specialist wetland or bog plant, and it is not a garden plant to keep near people or animals.
Cicuta bulbifera, commonly known as the bulb-bearing water-hemlock, is a plant native to North America and one of four species in the poisonous genus Cicuta. Tiny bulbils form in the leaf joints in the upper part of the plant, giving the plant its scientific and common names. Cicuta bulbifera can be distinguished from Cicuta douglasii by its narrow leaflet segments (less than 1/4 of an inch wide) and its bulbil-bearing upper leaf axils.
All plant parts are highly poisonous to humans and livestock. The tuberous roots, stem base, and young shoots are especially toxic. Livestock poisoning from Water Hemlocks is the most common in dry areas of the western United States, where grazing animals are drawn to low areas for green forage during dry spells.
The poisonous properties of C. bulbifera are similar to those of other members of the genus Cicuta. The roots and rootstalks are the most poisonous parts of the plant, but apparently all parts of the plant may contain some of the poison, especially in the early stages of growth. Ingestion of a small portion of the root is enough to kill an adult. Some would list these plants as the most poisonous naturally occurring North American genus of leafy plants.
Cicuta bulbifera is native to North America and has a wide range of distribution from Newfoundland and Labrador to British Columbia in Canada, to Virginia, Indiana, Nebraska and Oregon in the United States.
Western water hemlock · Spotted water hemlock · Mackenzie's water hemlock · Water hemlock
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Cicuta bulbifera by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
