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Conium
Also called Hemlock
Conium is a genus of about six species in the carrot family (Apiaceae), best known for poison hemlock (C. maculatum). These plants are typically biennial, forming rosettes in year one and tall hollow flower stalks in year two, and they are not grown for food.
Conium ( or ) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Apiaceae. As of December 2020, Plants of the World Online accepts six species.
All species of the genus are poisonous to humans. C. maculatum, also known as hemlock, is infamous for being highly poisonous. Hemlock is native to temperate regions of Europe, North Africa and Western Asia. The species C. chaerophylloides, C. fontanum, and C. sphaerocarpum are all native to southern Africa.
Historically, Conium species has been grown as ornamental plants. As it has attractive flowers to some plant breeders, it was introduced to the US from Europe as a garden plant. However, there have been documented cases where there was an improper cultivation of plants, where the species, notably C. maculatum, is mistaken with common edible plants such as parsnip, parsley, wild celery, and anise and is farmed for human consumption accidentally.
Today, intentional introduction of Conium plants as a garden plant or live specimen for herbal medicine into new and existing regions is less likely.
All species of Conium are highly toxic to humans, many other mammals, and birds (in larger doses). Virtually all parts of the plant are poisonous to humans, and consumption of any part of the plant can cause poisoning. In most cases, poisoning occurs from a misidentification of the plant as an edible species, such as C. maculatum root with wild parsnips or its leaves with parsley.
Conium maculatum is native to northern Europe, western Asia, and North Africa. C. chaerophylloides, C. fontanum, and C. sphaerocarpum are all native to southern Africa.
Historically, the leaves and flowers of Conium plant species were prized for their decorative appearance, and they were bred and kept as ornamental decorative plants. Conium plants were also used as natural barriers and in medicine as treatments. As knowledge that chemicals produced by Conium plants were toxic to humans and mammals became widespread, their usage as decorative plants and as treatments have declined.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Conium 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.
