CONIUM MACULATUM. 49 
CONIUM MACULATUM, 
LINNAEUS. 
HEMLOCK. 
Sex. Syst.—Pentandria, Digynia. 
Gen. Cuar.—Calyz obsolete. Petals obcordate, somewhat emarginate, with a very short inflexed lobe. Fruit 
compressed at the side, ovate. Half fruits (mericarps), with five prominent, equal, undulated ridges, of which the 
lateral are on the border. Channels with many strie and no vitte.—Biennials. Root fusiform. Stem taper branched. 
Leaves decompound. Both involucres 3-5 leaved, the partial one halved. Flowers white, all fertile. (Lindley. ) 
Specir. Cuar.—Leaflet of the partial envolucre lanceolate. Partial wmbel short. (De Candolle.) Root biennial, tap 
shaped, fusiform, whitish, from six to twelve inches long, somewhat resembling a young parsnip. Stem from two to six 
feet high, round, smooth, glaucous, shining, hollow, spotted with purple. Leaves tripinnate, with lanceolate, pinnatifid 
leaflets, of a dark and shining green colour, smooth, very fetid when bruised, with long furrowed footstalks, sheathing 
at their base. Umébels of many general as well as partial rays. General involucre of several (usually three to seven) 
leaflets; partial involucre of three leaflets on one side. Margin of the calyx obsolete. Petals five, white, obcordate, 
with inflexed points. Stamina five, epigynous, as long as the petals. Ovarium ovate, two celled, striated. Styles 
two, filiform, spreading. Stigma round. Fruit ovate, compressed laterally. Mericarps (half fruits) with five primary, 
but no secondary ridges, which are undulato-crenated ; the channels have many strie, but no vitte. Seed with a deep 
hollow groove in front. (Peretra’s Mat. Med.) eee 
Hemlock is an inhabitant of Europe, and, it is stated by Lindley, the east of Asia. In North and South America it 
-is cultivated. Naturally endowed with great activity, it is greatly modified by the climate and physical circumstances 
in which it is placed. In Spain, Italy, and Greece, it is highly energetic. In England (Colebrooke) it is diminished 
in power, and in the Crimea (Stevens) the peasants use it for food. In the United States it is not so efficient, which 
in a measure may arise from cultivation, as it is not a native. 
The term Cicuta is sometimes used synonymously with Hemlock and Conium, but the latter must not be con- 
founded with the true modern Cicuta, the C. maculata or C. virosa. The Latin Cicuta and Greek Conium (eer) 
are supposed to have been the same thing, and identical with the plant under consideration. er ' Athenians . 
was the State poison. Among other individuals, Socrates and Phocion perished from oe i on : Pao ai ae 
Strongly, that the plant now in use, and that of antiquity, are the same. He bases pots wagey onteg ay tamed 
Sons: Ist. Dioscorides describes the Greek plant so accurately, as to lead to the inference of gms Co en? is 
is an inhabitant of Greece, as Dr. Sibthorp has found it in the neighbourhood of Athens. 3d. The name Con 
in use in Greece at the present time; and, 4thly, the effects, as described by the older writers, 
are similar. 
Much has been said of Hemlock as a poison. Its reputation as such has been handed sac rd rep 
Says that the inhabitants of Chio compose of it a subtil poison by bruising it, and from “poses sig a ie 4 
Cos, a law existed obliging every inhabitant to take Hemlock who had arrived at the age 0 soir y “e ‘ sasaki 
was too small for the number of its inhabitants. It was not the only substance 1n the emcee? Dt bet e208 Pe ri 
Theophrastus states that the juice of the poppy was mixed with it, and the exemption me ioe ae 
death of Socrates, has been attributed to this admixture. (Pouchet, Tratte Elémentavre ” oi pte parsley, and An- 
The plants likely to be confounded with the Conium Maculatum, are ee ee be distinguished. 
thriscus sylvestris, common Cow parsley. By attending to the botanical characteristics they 
; rded as most active. The first 
The officinal portions of C. maculatum are the leaves and seeds ; the latter are ds ey ak igieli ie 
year’s leaves are few and radical, the second year it is of strong growth, and the nes They are directed to be gathered 
are of a bright green colour, and have the peculiar disagreeable odour of the plan : me — eanivel idea ote 
at the time, or a little later than the time, of flowering, to be dried ina dark ge spot abbed with caustic potassa, 
When dried they should retain their green colour; they have an aromatic odour, and, 
8ive out the smell of conia ; é light odour and a 
: taken; they have a sig ; 
The seeds (fructus) resemble those of anise, for which they can pak jive in the green immature state. 
bitter taste; in the dried state they are of a light brown colour, but are more ae 
VOL. f. 13 
and those now known, 
Mo. Bot. Garden 
1904. o" 
