Water Hemlock — The Deadliest Plant In North America

foreign I'm Adam Harrington and in this video we are going to discuss a beautiful plant that just so happens to be a toxic plant not only is it a toxic plant it is one of the most toxic plants in the world this is water hemlock ingestion of water hemlock can lead to nausea vomiting abdominal pain muscle tissue breakdown seizures kidney failure coma and death some sources consider water hemlock to be the most toxic plant in North America some sources even consider water hemlock to be the most toxic plant in the northern hemisphere needless to say this is a plant that you never want to consume now I don't say these things to scare you I say these things to inform you if you are interested in foraging edible wild plants and I hope you are because it's one of the greatest Thrills that a human could ever experience then it is absolutely necessary that you learn which plants are deadly toxic water hemlock is deadly toxic if its toxins get into your body if you respect this plant if you learn it if you let it do its own thing if you keep its toxins out of your body it's not going to harm you now it's important to note that water hemlock is not a single species water hemlock comprises multiple species around four or five of them that all share similar features and are all placed within a single genus the sakuta genus the sakuta genus is placed within the abaca family which is the carrot or parsley family so water hemlock is closely related to carrot parsley parsnip cilantro dill and celery foreign right now I'm spending some time alongside a pond and I'm hanging out with ball Blitz bearing water hemlock this one right here there's a couple scattered about now this plant isn't that easy to see the first time I found bulblet bearing water hemlock at this location I knew it would be growing somewhere around here but I had trouble locating the plant when I finally did locate it I realized I had been staring at it without even knowing it so bulblitz bearing water hemlock isn't a small plant it can grow to be four feet tall even taller than that but it's a somewhat thin plant and if it's growing in a highly biodiverse area then it can easily blend in with its surroundings so ball Blitz bearing water hemlock sakuta bulbifera grows in wet habitats including Lake margins swamps wet Meadows and ditches throughout Canada and the United States it seems to be most commonly reported in Southeastern Canada and the Northeastern United States the compound leaves of this plant are very delicate and wispy lower leaves are more divided than the upper leaves the stem of the plant is smooth it's mostly green though you'll often see reddish Hues and the stem contains faint striations from mid to late summer white flowers are produced in clusters known as humbles and a key feature for ball Blitz bearing water hemlock is the presence of ball Blitz in the axles of the leaves if you look closely you will see these little round structures particularly in the axles of the upper leaves as it turns out circuitable bifura isn't that great at producing seeds because the flowers readily abort to reproduce successfully ball Blitz bearing water hemlock produces these bulblets which assist with vegetative reproduction foreign right now I'm spending some time next to one of my favorite fresh water Springs in Western Pennsylvania and right next to this life-giving source of water is this deadly plant right here this is our second water hemlock species of the video this is common water hemlock sakute Immaculata now as a member of the sakuta genus common water hemlock does resemble ball bearing water hemlock in some ways but it's different in other ways foreign [Music] is very common throughout its extensive range being the most widely distributed species of Sakura in North America it grows in wet habitats including Lake margins wet Meadows and swamps and it is much more robust of a plant compared to bulblets bearing water hemlock growing up to six feet tall the stem contains faint striations it's smooth and has green and red to purplish red coloration the compound leaves are larger than the leaves of boblet bearing water hemlock each leaflet is toothed and a key feature is that the lateral veins do not extend to the ends of the teeth they extend to The Notches between the teeth small white flowers are produced in clusters known as humbles during the summer season and you will not see bulblets produced in the leaf axles of Sakura maculata so those are two species of water hemlock that grow in eastern North America remember there are a few more species in the cicuta genus but we're not going to cover them in this video because they do not commonly grow where I live in Western Pennsylvania now you might be wondering about a few other plants whose common names include the word Hemlock one good example would be poison hemlock poison hemlock is a completely different species in a different genus poison hemlock is conium maculatum and conia maculatum is generally a larger plant compared to the two water hemlock species we discussed poison hemlock contains prominent red to purplish red splotching on its stem it can grow in wet areas but it does very well in dry early successional habitats like fields roadsides and railroad rights of way as its name suggests poison hemlock is a very toxic plant Eastern Hemlock or Suga canadensis is a completely different species Eastern Hemlock or Canadian Hemlock is the state tree of my home state of Pennsylvania it's a conifer tree in the pine family that does not contain any of the toxins found in poison hemlock and water hemlock as you are aware by now all species of water hemlock are toxic and they're not just mildly toxic they are deadly toxic and out of the two water hemlock species that we discussed in this video common water hemlock is reportedly more toxic than bulblit bearing water hemlock but bulblet bearing water hemlock is still a deadly toxic plant now I mentioned earlier that the symptoms of water hemlock toxicity include nausea vomiting abdominal pain muscle tissue breakdown kidney failure seizures coma and death that's a short list of symptoms the entire list is much longer symptoms usually appear within the first hour of ingestion the principal toxin is a compound known as sichu toxin this compound induces convulsive seizures then respiratory paralysis which can lead to death if prompt treatment isn't given all parts of water hemlock are toxic the roots are reportedly the most toxic support for this claim was demonstrated in a case study involving 17 boys who ate water hemlock 12 children only consume the flowers and leaves and did not experience convulsions the other five children consume the roots and they experience convulsions the author of the report described the symptoms of one of the boys who consumed The Roots as follows he was totally unconscious manifesting violent convulsions frothing at the mouth and protruding eyeballs the froth was slightly blood tinged probably from biting the tongue the Jaws were firmly set with violent twitching of the facial muscles a horrible spectacle after treatment which included stomach pumping and enemas surprisingly all 17 children made a complete recovery now not everyone has been so lucky as I mentioned earlier water hemlock toxicity can be fatal to cite one example in 1992 a man and his older brother were foraging for wild ginseng in Maine the younger brother collected water hemlock thinking that he was collecting wild ginseng he took three bites of the root his older brother took one bite of the same root the younger brother died approximately three hours after ingesting the root the older brother had seizures and exhibited delirium two hours after eating the root eventually he was stabilized and he lived now you've probably noticed throughout this video that I haven't shied away from touching water hemlock I've touched it many times throughout this video but I haven't broken the plant's tissues I haven't rubbed the plant sap all over my skin and I haven't ingested the plant in any way it's important to note however that toxicity associated with skin exposure to water hemlock has been reported in one particular case a family of five rubbed a species of sakuta into their skin to relieve itching every single family member developed toxic symptoms and two children died keep in mind these people weren't simply touching water hemlock they were rubbing water hemlock into their skin which implies a Breaking of plant tissue and an absorption of plant sap into their skin that's not something I will ever do with water hemlock and it's not something you should ever do with water hemlock either I will only lightly touch it like this just for identification purposes now homicidal attempts have been made with water hemlock but most General cases of toxicity involve people who mistake the plant for a wild edible species now the list of potential look-alikes can be extensive depending on your plant ID skills and depending on where you live and there's not enough time in a single video to try to cover every single potential look-alike species so I won't even attempt to do that in this video however I will briefly mention that wild carrot or Queen Anne's Lace is a plant that some people could confuse for a water hemlock species wild carrot is edible and medicinal and plant plenty of detailed keys and descriptions exist online and in books to help you positively identify the species wild carrot typically grows in drier areas compared to water hemlock wild carrot can have hairy stems but sometimes this hairiness is lacking the stem of wild carrot while somewhat thin is often much stronger and more durable compared to the succulent-like hollow stock of cicuta species a central flower within the flowering Umble can be dark purple but sometimes this isn't the case all parts of the plant when crushed smell like carrot this video does not contain enough information to help you discern between wild carrot and water hemlock but it should at least make you aware that wild carrot is not the same species as water hemlock wild carrot is edible water hemlock is deadly poisonous for humans and for livestock so there you have it a very brief introduction to a deadly plant considered the most toxic plant in North America and remember this plant is actually a group of plants in the sakuta genus all collectively known as water hemlock despite its virulent toxicity the sakuta genus is definitely a good genus for you to study and to learn thank you so much for watching this video I truly appreciate it I encourage you to subscribe to the learn your land YouTube channel I would love it if you would head on over to learn your land.com and sign up for the email newsletter and if you're on Instagram or on Facebook please give learn your land a follow over there thanks again for watching this video I'll see you on the next one foreign [Music]

Channel: Learn Your Land

Views: 435,554

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Id: NGSyIA2HApE

Length: 12min 23sec (743 seconds)

Published: Thu Sep 15 2022