{"id":4720,"date":"2015-07-20T04:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-07-20T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.blog.sdps-bbs.com\/?p=4720"},"modified":"2025-08-05T10:51:21","modified_gmt":"2025-08-05T14:51:21","slug":"be-careful-around-highly-toxic-poison-hemlock-plant-this-summer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/be-careful-around-highly-toxic-poison-hemlock-plant-this-summer\/","title":{"rendered":"Be Careful Around Highly Toxic Poison Hemlock Plant This Summer"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Poison

Photo credit: Pedro Tenorio-Lezama, Bugwood.org<\/p><\/div>\n

Made infamous through the trial of Socrates, Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Macbeth, and several other works of classic literature, poison\u00a0hemlock is an extremely toxic\u00a0plant that will pose a risk this summer and should be handled with caution.<\/p>\n

Poison hemlock is a\u00a0biennial plant, meaning that it has a two year lifespan. Last summer, it went through vegetative growth and largely stayed out of sight. This summer, it will produce small white clusters of flowers and will be more likely to catch the attention of animals and people. Poison hemlock is a member of the parsley family and can sometimes be confused with wild carrot. However, its distinguishing feature is its hairless hollow stalks with purple blotches. If you see these, be careful!<\/p>\n

The biggest risk with poison hemlock is ingestion. Lethal doses are fairly small, so it is important for animal owners or parents of young children to identify it in their area and remove it if possible. The toxins can also be absorbed through the skin and lungs, so be sure to wear gloves and a mask when handling these plants.<\/p>\n

Symptoms of hemlock poisoning include dilation of the pupils, weakening or slowing pulse, blue coloration around the mouth and eventually paralysis of the central nervous system and muscles leading to death. Quick treatment can reverse the effects, so act quickly.<\/p>\n

Resources<\/b>
\nInvasive Plant Species Fact Sheets: Poison Hemlock<\/a>, The Education Store, Purdue Extension Resource Center
\nRecognizing and Managing Poison Hemlock<\/a>, Purdue Landscape Report
\nPoison Hemlock<\/a>, Pest & Crop Newsletter, Purdue Extension \u2013 Entomology
\nHemlock Woolly Adelgid: Distribution Update<\/a>, Purdue Landscape Report
\nWhat are Invasive Species and Why Should I Care?<\/a>, Purdue Extension \u2013 Forestry and Natural Resources (FNR)
\nIndiana Invasive Species Council<\/a>
\nReport INvasive<\/a>, Purdue Extension & Indiana Invasive Species Council
\nPoison Hemlock (Conium maculatum)<\/a>, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)<\/p>\n

Purdue Extension<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Made infamous through the trial of Socrates, Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Macbeth, and several other works of classic literature, poison\u00a0hemlock is an extremely toxic\u00a0plant that will pose a risk this summer and should be handled with caution. Poison hemlock is a\u00a0biennial plant, meaning that it has a two year lifespan. Last summer, it went through vegetative […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38,42,44,48,49,52,53],"tags":[56,60,62,67,70,71],"class_list":["post-4720","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-alert","category-forestry","category-gotnatureforkids","category-invasiveplantspecies","category-plants","category-safety","category-urbanforestry","tag-alert","tag-forestry","tag-got-nature-for-kids","tag-plants","tag-safety","tag-urban-forestry","audience-for-enthusiasts","audience-for-homeowners","audience-for-landowners","audience-for-professionals"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4720","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4720"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4720\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34339,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4720\/revisions\/34339"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4720"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4720"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4720"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}