page_title: Cicuta
section_title: Similar species
hierarchical_section_title: Cicuta / Similar species
caption_attribution_description: Cicuta virosa in the Oslo Botanical Garden, Oslo, Norway.
context_page_description: Cicuta, commonly known as water hemlock, is a genus of four species of highly poisonous plants in the family Apiaceae. They are perennial herbaceous plants which grow up to 2.5 meters tall, having distinctive small green or white flowers arranged in an umbrella shape. Plants in this genus may also be referred to as cowbane or poison parsnip. Cicuta is native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, mainly North America and Europe, typically growing in wet meadows, along streambanks and other wet and marshy areas. These plants bear a close resemblance to other members in the family Apiaceae and may be confused with a number of other edible and poisonous plants. The common name hemlock may also be confused with poison hemlock, or with the Hemlock tree.
  Water hemlock is considered one of North America's most toxic plants, being highly poisonous to humans. Three members of the genus contain a toxin named cicutoxin which causes central nervous system stimulatory effects including seizures following ingestion.
context_section_description: Members of the family Apiaceae bear close resemblance to each other, and have many characteristics in common. Cicuta spp. are often mistaken for edible plants such as kvanne (Angelica archangelica), wild celery (Apium graveolens), pignut (Conopodium majus), wild carrot (Daucus carota), wild parsnip (Pastinaca sativa), and water parsnip (Berula spp.). One of the more common misidentifications is between water hemlock and water parsnip; both have clusters of small white flowers shaped like umbrellas, and both have the same habitat near the shoreline of lakes and rivers. Differences between water parsnip and water hemlock include the water parsnip having leaves only once compound while the water hemlock has leaves which are two or three times compound. Water hemlock also has a large swelling at the stem base which water parsnip lacks. Additionally, water hemlock has bracts at the base of each small flower cluster, not at the base of the main flower head, while water parsnip has both bracts at the base of flowers and also at the main flower head.
  Additionally, there can be confusion between the various water hemlock species and poison hemlock (Conium maculatum) as the common name hemlock is applied to both Cicuta and Conium maculatum. Both are poisonous and can be differentiated by differences in their root structure. Water hemlock has a branched root systems with tubules, while poison hemlock has a single tap root. Another reliable method to identify water hemlock is to examine the leaf veins. Water hemlock is unique in the family Apiaceae in that it has leaf veins which terminate in the notches between the leaf tips, rather than extend to the tip of the leaf, as is found in the leaf structure of other members of this family.
caption: Cicuta virosa
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