UMBELLIFERAE COWBANE 659 



Cicuta bulbifera L. Bulbous Water-Hemlock 



A slender perennial from 1-3 feet high; leaves 2-3 times pinnate: leaflets 

 linear ; sparingly toothed, 2 inches long ; upper axils bear clustered bulblets ; 

 fruit small, ovate. 



Distribution. In swamps Nova Scotia to Delaware, Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska 

 and Manitoba. 



Poisonous properties. Very poisonous, like the other species described above. 



3. Sium (Tourn.) L. Water Parsnip 



Smooth perennial herbs with stem leaves pinnate, basal leaves with pinnatifid 

 leaflets; flowers white in large umbels; calyx teeth minute; short styles; fruit 

 ovate to oblong with prominent ribs ; 1-3 oil tubes. A small genus of 8 species 

 in temperate regions. The 5*. latifolium is poisonous especially to cattle. It 

 produces stupor, excitement and gastro-enteritis. 



Sium cicutaefolium Schrank. Water Parsnip. 



An erect stout marsh herb from 2-6 feet high; lower leaves with long 

 petioles; leaflets 3-8 pairs; segments linear or lanceolate, sharply serrate; 

 flowers in umbels, white; fruit ovate, prominently ribbed. 



Distribution. From Nova Scotia across the continent to Florida and Cali- 

 fornia. 



Poisonous properties. The water parsnip is reported as poisonous from sev- 

 eral different sources. Hyams reports it poisonous in North Carolina. 



4. Aethusa L. Fool's Parsley. 



Annual glabrous herbs. Leaves 2-3 ternately compound, dissected ; umbels 

 compound without involucre; involucels long and narrow: flowers white; calyx 

 teeth obsolete; fruit globose, ovoid, glabrous, flattened dorsally. One species 

 native to Europe and Asia. 



Aethusa Cynapium L. Fool's Parsley 



An erect leafy branched annual. Leaves 2-3 times pinnate: petiole dilated 

 at the base; umbels long peduncled. 



Distribution. In cultivated grounds and waste places from Nova Scotia. 

 New England to Pennsylvania and New York. 



Poisonous properties. Contains the alkaloid cynapin, and a coniin-like alka- 

 loid. One physician in England regards the plant as non-poisonous, even recom- 

 mending it as a pot herb or for salad uses. On the other hand numerous cases 

 of poisoning have been recorded. The following may serve as an illustration 

 which is recorded by Dr. Millspaugh from a statement made many years 

 ago. He records the experiments made on animals. Seven ounces of 

 the juicy leaves were given to a strong dog and the oesophagus tied; twenty 

 minutes thereafter the dog became sick. He stretched out his limbs, and lay 

 on his stomach and it was impossible to arouse the animal. The pupils were 

 scarcely dilated, the pulsations of the heart were slow and strong. The ex- 

 tremities were agitated by convulsive movements; the animal threw himself 

 from one side to the other, and died an hour after taking the poison. The post- 

 mortem examination showed that the heart was contracted and the stomach was 

 found to be full of the poison. In domestic animals it causes stupor, paralysis 

 and convulsions. The common name indicates that it is sometimes mistaken for 

 parsley with injurious results. 



