Killer plant- Water hemlock

If I say a giant plant is on the way to kill you will say that’s impractical, In movie or cartoon series where a man eating plant, but in real world all these kind of stuff are real but not that way, If you think plants are friendly and they can’t be harmful to anyone, then you are wrong absolute wrong. Now we are going knew how a plant which is one the most deadly in the world which is namely Water hemlock.

Classification:-

Kingdom:                     Plantae                                              Order:            Apiales

Family:                        Apiaceae                                            Genus:        Cicuta

Let’s know about how deadly is Water hemlock, commonly known as Cicuta, is a small genus of four species of highly poisonous plants in the family Apiaceae. They are perennial herbaceous plants which grow up to 2.5 meters (8.2 ft) tall, having distinctive small green or white flowers arranged in an umbrella shape (umbel). 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

A perennial plant that grows to a height of 3 to 7 feet tall. The leaves are up to 15 inches long, alternately-arranged, and tri-pinnately-compound with numerous 2 to 5 inch ovate leaflets. They are also sharply toothed. The leaf veins terminate at the bottom of leaf serrations and not at the tips, which helps to identify this plant. Flowers are white and tiny, have 5 petals and 5 stamens that grow in umbrella like clusters 2 to 8 inches across. The plant flowers in spring or early summer. The stem is branching, smooth, hollow and often with purplish-green striations. It has a tuberous root with rootstalks that are multi-chambered and contain a yellowish oily liquid. This poisonous liquid is said to smell like raw parsnip.

The native Water Hemlock has been observed in nearly all counties of Illinois (see Distribution Map); it is occasional to locally common. Habitats include moist open woodlands, swamps, wet prairies, prairie swales, marshes, seeps, and roadside ditches. Water Hemlock prefers moister locations than the introduced Conium maculatum (Poison Hemlock), and so these two species rarely compete with each other for the same ecological niche. It is not uncommon to find Water Hemlock growing where Iris virginica shrevei (Blue Flag Iris) also occurs.

kinds of Cicuta: bulblet-bearing w. h. (Cicuta bulbifera) , western w. h. (Cicuta douglasii), beaver poison (Cicuta maculata), cowbane (Cicuta virosa), spotted w. h. (Cicuta occidentalis)

The plant is occasionally mistaken for parsnips, due to its clusters of white tuberous roots; this is an often fatal error, as the Cicuta is extremely poisonous. Indeed, spotted water hemlock is considered to be North America's most toxic plant. Cicuta is fatal when swallowed, causing violent and painful convulsions. Though a number of people have died from water hemlock poisoning over the centuries, livestock have long been the worst affected (hence the name "cowbane"), causing death in as little as 15 minutes.

 The chief poison is cicutoxin, an unsaturated aliphatic alcohol that is most concentrated in the roots. Upon human consumption, nausea, vomiting, and tremors occur within 30–60 minutes, followed by severe cramps, projectile vomiting, and convulsions. 

There are occasional long-term effects, like retrograde amnesia. Ingestion of water hemlock in any quantity can result in death or permanent damage to the central nervous system.