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Apiaceae
Hemlock Flower
Conium maculatum
Death, treachery, and the poisoned cup of Socrates.
- Family
- Apiaceae
- Genus
- Conium
- Native to
- Europe, North Africa, Western Asia
- Bloom season
- Late Spring, Summer
- Type
- biennial herb
- Height
- 100–300 cm
- Sunlight
- full sun to part shade
- Soil
- moist, fertile, disturbed ground
- Water
- moderate
- Hardiness
- 4–10
- Lifespan
- biennial
Did you know
- This is the plant that killed Socrates — he was sentenced to drink a cup of hemlock tea in 399 BCE.
- The stems have distinctive purple-red blotches that are a key identification feature separating it from harmless lookalikes.
- All parts contain piperidine alkaloids that cause ascending paralysis, eventually stopping the diaphragm.
- It closely resembles wild carrot and parsley, making it one of the most dangerous plants for foragers to misidentify.
- Despite its notoriety, hemlock is a common roadside weed across North America and is spreading rapidly.
Color meanings
0
death
1
treachery
2
you will be my death