E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Conium maculatum L.
poison-hemlock (poison hemlock)
Apiaceae

Introduction to Vascular Plants

© Bryan Kelly-McArthur  Email the photographer   (Photo ID #84241)

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Distribution of Conium maculatum
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Species Information

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General:
Robust biennial herb from a stout whitish taproot, with a disagreeable odour, especially when crushed; stems erect, freely branched, purple-blotched, hollow, 0.5-3 m tall, glabrous, glaucous.
Leaves:
Stem leaves pinnately dissected, fernlike, with small ultimate segments giving the plant a lacy appearance; leaf stalks enlarged and sheathing at the base, the blades 15-30 cm long.
Flowers:
Inflorescence terminal and axillary in many compound umbels; flowers white; involucral bracts small, lance-shaped.
Fruits:
Egg-shaped, somewhat flattened, 2-2.5 mm long, glabrous, with prominent, raised, often wavy ribs.
Notes:
Plants highly poisonous.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Habitat / Range

Wet to mesic ditches and disturbed sites in the lowland zone; locally common in in SW BC (known in the Victoria area and Vancouver) rare in SC BC; introduced from Europe.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Additional Notes

This is an extremely poisonous introduced European species in the carrot/parsley family (Apiaceae/Umbelliferae) that can be fatal if ingested. Because it is so toxic, it is important to carefully consider the key characteristics when making an identification. This is the plant that Socrates used to kill himself (Pojar and MacKinnon 1994).

Note Author: R. Klinkenberg

References

Pojar, Jim and Andy MacKinnon. 1994. Plants of Coastal British Columbia. Lone Pine Press, Edmonton.

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Conium maculatum

The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
Site Information
 Value / Class

Minimum

Average

Maximum
Elevation (metres) 1359 1429 1500
Slope Gradient (%) 0 10 20
Aspect (degrees)
[0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W] 		120 120 120
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR)
[0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic;
8 - hydric] 		5 5 5
Modal Nutrient Regime
Class		 D
Number of field plots
 species was recorded in:		 2
Modal BEC Zone Class
 ICH
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in: ICH(1), MS(1)

Climate

The climate type for this species, as reported in the: "British Columbia plant species codes and selected attributes. Version 6 Database" (Meidinger et al. 2008), is not evaluated, unknown or variable.

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links


Genetic information (NCBI Taxonomy Database)
 International Plant Names Index
 Taxonomic Information from the World Flora Online
 Integrated Taxonomic Information System

Additional Photo Sources

Images From CalPhoto
UT Austin's Native Plant Database
 Google Image Search
 Flickr Image Search

General References

Google Scholar Search
Family References
 General Botanical References for BC
Recommended citation: Author, Date. Page title. In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Editor) 2020. E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia [eflora.bc.ca]. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. [Accessed: 2024-05-02 12:10:11 PM ]
Disclaimer: The information contained in the E-Flora atlas pages is derived from expert sources as cited in each section. This information is scientifically based. E-Flora also acts as a portal to other sites via deep links. As always, users should refer to the original sources for complete information. E-Flora BC is not responsible for the accuracy or completeness of the original information.
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