Hemlock, spotted

The spotted hemlock, also known as Conium maculatum, is a plant species from the Apiaceae family (umbellifers) and is one of the most poisonous native plants. The plant's distribution area includes Europe, Asia and North Africa, bordered by the Canary Islands, Algeria, Norway, Finland, Altai, the Baikal region, the Hindu Kush, Iran and Ethiopia. It is also found in North and South America and New Zealand.

ESCOP: not processed

HMPC: not processed

Commission E: not processed

The hemlock cup, a drink made from the fruits or roots of the hemlock, was once used to execute convicts. Socrates (469 BC - 399 BC), for example, died by drinking the cup of hemlock. Socrates was condemned because of the supposedly corrupting influence on the youth and disrespect for the gods.

The spotted hemlock grows as a biennial herbaceous plant and reaches growth heights between 80 and 200 cm. The whitish root is spindle-shaped. The round and hollow stems are covered by a kind of blue frost and have red spots in the lower part. The leaves are angular, the flowers grow in corymbed inflorescences and have white petals. The plant blooms between June and September.

Piperidine alkaloid coniin, furanocoumarins, flavonoids.

1. Montag A (2023) Plants and skin. Springer-Verlag Ltd. S. 857-860
2. https://www.awl.ch/heilpflanzen/conium_maculatum/gefleckter_schierling.htm