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Hemlock

Conium maculatum

Profile

Hemlock is a biennial plant from the umbellifer family. It is one of the most poisonous native wild plants.

Appearance

The hemlock grows to a height of 1 to 2 metres and smells unpleasantly of mouse urine. The stalk of the hemlock is hollow, finely grooved and has bluish frosting. The lower part of the stem is spotted red. The white flowers have 5 petals and are arranged in umbels consisting of 7 - 15 rays. The plant flowers from June to September and develops grey-green to brownish, notched fruits. The leaves are 2 - 3-pinnate, with a dark green upper side and a grey-green underside. The individual leaf sections are coarsely toothed.

Gefleckter Schierling: Pflanze mit weißen Doldenblüten (Enlarges Image in Dialog Window)
Hemlock
(Enlarges Image in Dialog Window)
Hemlock
Gefleckter Schierling: Stängel mit roten Flecken (Enlarges Image in Dialog Window)
Red spotted stalk

Distribution

The hemlock is widespread throughout Europe. It is found in typical ruderal areas such as rubble heaps, fallow land, field margins and roadsides. The plant is considered a nitrogen indicator.

Health risk

All parts of the hemlock plant are highly poisonous, both to humans and animals. Grazing animals usually avoid the plant, but poisoning in horses, cattle and pigs has been reported. The active ingredient, the pseudoalkaloid coniin, is fatal to adults in a dose of 0.5 to 1 gram.

Prevention and control

Mowing or chopping the plants before flowering and seed ripening prevents further spread. Personal protective equipment should be used as the poisonous active ingredient is also absorbed from injured plant parts via the uninjured skin.

List of plant protection products authorised in Austria

Services

Pflanzengesundheit Services

Last updated: 11.07.2024

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