POISONOUS Hemlock Water Dropwort

Showing guests from the Pierhouse, Port Appin the dreaded Hemlock Water Dropwort

Hemlock Water Dropwort - Oenanthe crocata - DO NOT EAT!

Anyone that is interested in eating wild foods should be equally interested in avoiding poisonous ones. Although there are plenty that can leave you feeling worse for wear, HWDW would very likely kill you off. It's not to be confused with its cousin either, common hemlock - Conium maculatum, which would probably finish you off too, given half the chance. Both of these deadly species belong to the carrot or Apiaceae family. This fact is troubling when you realise that this family is also home to many edible plants. Therefore foraging for edible members of the carrot family is only reccomended to those with some experience. Reguardless of whether you have that experience, these plants grow side by side with many delicious species in the UK so it is essential that you are able to identify them. So lets take a closer look at hemlock water dropwort.

Hemlock water dropwort leaf and stem

Identification

As its name suggests you usually find this plant in or near fresh water. On the West Coast of Scotland, where I am based, it is prolific and loves all of our damp banks, marshes and waterways. It is often present in coastal areas when those tributaries meet salty waters often establishing itself in good numbers.

Hemlock water dropwort leaf

They look a little like a fern with shiny green leaves, typical of this family. The stems are hairless, grooved and hollow and resemble celery. So think about celery and carrot tops that rise up and grow to no more than two meters harbouring a clutch of parsnip- like pale tubers at the base. Although these are usually hidden under the earth, they are easily uncovered and exposed. Every year the newspapers love to run one or two stories frightening the life out anyone who dares to read; dead mans fingers found on Scottish beach blah blah blah. Make no mistake they are dangerous, especially to dogs who can pick them up thinking they are sticks but it’s a shame that our media seems to prefer scaring people rather than educating them.

Dead mans fingers aka hemlock water dropwort tubers

I do not like the smell of this plant (when cut) but not all of my clients agree... some think it smells nice. In the summer the white flowers spray in the typical umbel shape of this family and eventually turn to dark rugby ball shaped seeds. Like other members of this family you may notice the dead stems of the previous year in the winter, giving you clues as to what lurks underground.

The seeds of the poisonous hemlock water dropwort

You have probably worked out by now that this is an incredibly dangerous plant, perhaps the most poisonous in the UK. Even eating a small amount could kill you in a couple of hours. With that in mind, we must urge eachother to take the greatest of care when out foraging in areas where this might be present. As I said above, my part of the world on the west coast of Scotland feels dominated by this plant. It is perhaps because it shares habitats with many other wild foods that I collect. Every year when the ramsons (wild garlic) start to rise I am reminded of how easy it could be to accidently take a leaf of hemlock home in my basket. And every year I watch the popularity of wild garlic grow, with many novices enjoying the phenominal feeling of finding your own food. As much as I love to see more people getting out doing this, especially locally to me, I can't help but wonder how many of them are aware of what that carroty-looking plant thats growing next to the wild garlic is? Well, hopefully one or two more of them do now.

Hemlock water dropwort uncomfortably close to wild garlic

I can only hope I haven't put them off!

Which leads me on to my favourite story about hemlock water dropwort! Every plant seems to have a use! Even the poisonous ones.... Hemlock water dropwort was used as a form of capital punishment and euthanasia in pre-Roman Sardinia. Due to the nasty concoction of compounds present in the plant, those unfortunate enough to ingest it experience a drunken like stupor followed by asphyxiation and death. It is believed that the plant is referred to as herba sardonica in ancient literature as the asphyxiation results in the victim having a terrible death smile - the sardonic grin!

This is one plant not to mess around with, although I recommend that all my clients find it and study it. You will feel much better when you are able to identify it and avoid it. It is the best reminder of why we harvest our lunch slowly and mindfully, one leaf at a time.

Hemlock water dropwort

Further Reading

Polyacetylenes from Sardinian Oenanthe fistulosa: A Molecular Clue to risus sardonicus by Giovanni Appendino, Federica Pollastro, Luisella Verotta, Mauro Ballero, Adriana Romano, Paulina Wyrembek, Katarzyna Szczuraszek, Jerzy W. Mozrzymas, and Orazio Taglialatela-Scafati.