298 



COMMON WEEDS 



poisonous, especially the 

 fleshy roots ; the leaves 

 have been mistaken by 

 man for celery, and the 

 roots for parsnips, with 

 fatal results. When 

 ditches are cleaned this 

 plant is often thrown out 

 on the banks, and cattle 

 are not infrequently 

 poisoned by eating these 

 clearings. In 1898 cattle 

 and sheep died on a farm 

 near Bristol (Journal Royal 

 Agric. Soc.j 1898) through 

 eating Water Dropwort. 

 The poisonous principle is 

 (Enanthin. Other poison- 

 ous species of CEnanthe 

 are met with in Great 

 Britain . in damp situa- 

 tions. 



' Fool's Parsley (.thusa 

 Cynapium L.) is a small 

 annual weed of gardens 

 and cultivated fields, at- 

 taining to a height of 2 feet 

 (Fig. 83). It occurs from 

 Elgin southward, and also 

 in Ireland. The foliage 

 is compound, and re- 

 sembles parsley, but is 

 very dark green in colour. 

 The flowers are white, 

 of true parsley being yellow ; they appear in 



FIG. 83. Fool's Parsley (sEthusa Cynapium L.) 

 x about , with enlarged flower and fruit. 



those 



