UMBELLIFERAE 



PARSLEY FAMILY 



MUSQUASH ROOT. WATER HEMLOCK 



Cicttta maculata L. 



The fame of this plant rests on its poisonous nature. 

 Its toxic principle is the most violent to livestock of that 

 from any Illinois plant, and is found in all its parts. An 

 impleasantly strong narcotic 

 odor is characteristic. 



From the large, fleshy and 

 tuber-bearing roots of the 

 Water Hemlock rises a slender 

 stem 3-6 feet high and marked 

 lengthwise with purple lines. 

 It is found mostly on marshy 

 ground from New Brunswick 

 to Florida and is common 

 westward to Manitoba and 

 New Mexico, but will endure 

 moderately dry soil. The 

 leaves are sometimes i foot 

 long, are 2 or 3 times pinnately 

 divided, and the oblong-lanceo- 

 late segments are coarsely 

 toothed. 



The many-flowered com- 

 pound umbels are 2-4 inches 

 broad. The umbellets are one- 

 half inch across or more, and the small flowers are white. Usually 

 there is no involucre, but there are involucels of several slender 

 bractlets. The small fruits are oval or broadly ovate. 



The Harbinger of Spring, Erigenia bullosa (Michx.) Nutt., is a 

 low perennial herb which gets its name from the fact that it blooms 

 very early, often in March, or even February in the southern part 

 of the state, continuing through April. It is the only species of 

 Erigenia in the world and is found only in the central part of the 

 continent. There are usually 2-4 basal leaves, and the flowering 

 stem, 3-9 inches high, bears no leaves except the i or 2 that serve 

 as an involucre below the compound umbel. The flower has no calyx 

 teeth and its white petals are flat, not turned in at the tip. The 

 5 stamens are attached with the petals to the disk that surrounds 

 the 1 styles above the ovarv. The fruit contains 2 seeds. 



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