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Water Hemlock
Widely regarded as the most deadly plant in North America - a carrot-family plant of wet ground whose cicutoxin kills quickly, and a lethal look-alike for edible wetland plants. Learn it, and never touch or taste any part.
Safety notes DEADLY POISON - never touch, taste, or plant any part. Water hemlock's cicutoxin causes violent seizures and death, often within an hour; it is considered North America's most lethal plant, and the ROOTS are the most poisonous. A carrot-family plant of WET ground, it is dangerously MISTAKEN for edible relatives. KEY ID: a CHAMBERED rootstock oozing yellow oily liquid, and purple-streaked stems. If ingestion is suspected, call poison control / emergency services immediately.
Overview
Water hemlock (Cicuta maculata) is widely regarded as the most violently poisonous plant in North America. Every part contains cicutoxin, a compound that attacks the nervous system and can cause severe convulsions and death very rapidly - sometimes within an hour of ingestion - and the roots are the most poisonous part of all. It is a native plant of wet ground: marshes, ditches, stream banks, wet meadows, and pond edges across most of the continent.
Its danger, like poison hemlock's, comes from belonging to the carrot family (Apiaceae) and resembling edible relatives - people and livestock have died after mistaking its sweet-smelling, parsnip-scented root for an edible one, or its foliage for an edible wetland green. This entry is an identification and safety guide with one overriding message: learn to recognize it (white flower umbels on a wet-ground carrot-family plant, purple-streaked stems, and the deadly chambered root), never forage any carrot-family plant of wet ground, and keep it away from children, pets, and livestock. Alongside poison hemlock, water hemlock is a plant where knowing it can save a life. If ingestion is ever suspected, treat it as an immediate emergency.
The one thing to knowWater hemlock (Cicuta maculata) is widely regarded as the most violently poisonous plant in North America.
Quick facts
For identification. Not a growing guide.
- Height
- 5 ftRange: 3–8 ft
- Spread
- 30 inRange: 18–48 in
- Cold
- Takes hard frostdamaged below -40°F
- Heat
- Struggles above 100°F
- Life cycle
- Perennial, lives about 5 years
- Self-sows
- Yes. Never let it set seed.
- Habitat
- Full sun · Part sun · Part shade, tolerates wet soil soil
Through the year
A field guide through time
Explore the stages to recognize this plant throughout its life.
Stage 1 of 3 · The recurring year
Wet-ground foliage (identify & avoid)
Apr to Jun, every year
Know this stage
-
Carrot-family leaves in WET ground - veins to the notches
Water hemlock has divided, fern-like carrot-family leaves and grows only in WET places - marshes, ditches, stream banks, wet meadows. A distinctive leaf clue: the side veins of each leaflet run to the NOTCHES between the teeth, not to the tips ('vein to the cut, not the tooth'). Stems are often stout, hollow, and streaked or spotted with PURPLE. Do not touch or taste any part - the roots especially are lethal.
-
The CHAMBERED root is the deadly tell
The single most diagnostic feature is underground and must NEVER be handled to check: cut lengthwise, the thick rootstock is CHAMBERED - divided by cross-partitions into hollow sections - and oozes a yellowish, oily liquid that smells of raw parsnip/carrot. Do not dig or handle the root to confirm this; know it as the reason water hemlock is so deadly (people have died mistaking the sweet-smelling root for an edible one).
Months are typical seasonal windows; climate, variety, and plant age can shift them.
Hazards
Poisoning by Ingestion (deadly, rapid)Severity High HazardnowSeason: year-roundAny ingestion of the plant or of a misidentified 'wild parsnip/carrot' root or green; early symptoms (within 15-60 minutes) can include nausea, salivation, tremors, and severe seizures - an immediate emergency.
Any ingestion of the plant or of a misidentified 'wild parsnip/carrot' root or green; early symptoms (within 15-60 minutes) can include nausea, salivation, tremors, and severe seizures - an immediate emergency.
Suspected ingestion is an EMERGENCY - call poison control / emergency services immediately; do not induce anything or wait for symptoms. There is no specific antidote; treatment is urgent supportive medical care (seizure control, airway support).
Never eat or taste any part; never forage a wet-ground carrot-family plant without ruling out water hemlock (and poison hemlock); do not dig or handle roots; keep it away from children, pets, and livestock, and warn others near wet stands.
The hazard is swift lethal poisoning of people or animals: all parts contain cicutoxin (concentrated in the roots) that causes violent convulsions, respiratory failure, and death, often within an hour. The greatest risk is mistaking it for an edible wet-ground carrot-family plant, especially by eating the sweet-smelling root.
Livestock & Pet PoisoningSeverity High HazardnowSeason: Mar–OctGrazing animals near wet stands; roots exposed or dislodged in muddy, trampled ground; sudden collapse and seizures in animals with access to marshy pasture.
Grazing animals near wet stands; roots exposed or dislodged in muddy, trampled ground; sudden collapse and seizures in animals with access to marshy pasture.
A veterinary emergency with no specific antidote - call a veterinarian immediately; prevention (keeping animals away from wet stands) is far more reliable than treatment.
Fence livestock away from marshy areas with water hemlock, remove stands from grazed wet ground (professionally, with protection), and never let animals graze soft wet ground where roots can be pulled up.
Water hemlock is a major cause of livestock death: cattle, horses, sheep, and pets are poisoned by grazing the plant or by eating roots pulled up in soft, wet, trampled ground - especially in spring when green shoots and loosened roots are most accessible.
Spread by Water & SeedSeverity Low DisordernowSeason: Aug–NovNew plants appearing downstream of a known stand, and re-emergence from surviving roots in spring.
New plants appearing downstream of a known stand, and re-emergence from surviving roots in spring.
Repeated safe removal or water-safe herbicide over time by professionals; monitor waterways downstream where seed lands.
Where control is warranted, remove stands (professionally, safely) before they seed to limit downstream spread; monitor banks and ditches for new plants.
Why it persists and spreads: seeds float and travel downstream on water, and the perennial chambered roots survive winter, so water hemlock reappears along waterways and colonizes new wet ground.
Grower tips
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