Where does hemlock grow? Hemlock is the most famous poisonous plant. Signs of hemlock poisoning

There are many names: hemlock, wood pig, cat parsley, omezhnik, omeg, water rabies, water hemlock, dog angelica, mutnik, gorigolova and pig louse.

This article will introduce a plant better known as hemlock. Photos, descriptions, poisonous properties, places of growth - you will read about all this here.

There have been cases where people who do not know about poisonous properties Oh this plant, we poisoned ourselves with it. This plant can be mistakenly mistaken for an edible wild plant whose roots can be eaten. You should stay away from him. Hemlock can also be confused with angelica.

Just 200 grams of hemlock rhizome is enough to poison a cow to death, and 50 to 100 grams of this plant can kill a sheep.

According to one legend, Socrates was poisoned by the poison of this particular plant. But it is now believed that a more likely version is that the philosopher died after taking a drink based on spotted hemlock.

general description

Veh poisonous is a very plant.

Hemlock smells like celery or carrots (and the smell is deceiving), and has a thick root. It usually blooms in July-August.

Poisonous wekh is easily distinguished from similar plants by its thick rhizome. Its root is divided into separate chambers by partitions. It is pulled out of the ground quite easily. The root, which is the most poisonous part of the plant, tastes sweet. It resembles radish or rutabaga. The highest concentration of poison in hemlock is observed in the spring.

Botanical description

Hemlock (see photo below) - herbaceous perennial, growing up to 1-1.2 meters in height with a characteristic vertical fleshy rhizome white with numerous thin roots. A longitudinal section in the rhizome reveals a number of transverse cavities filled with yellowish liquid. The latter is characteristic hallmark milestone.

The smooth and branched stem is hollow inside.

The upper large leaves are sharp-toothed twice, and the lower ones are thrice pinnate and dissected, with pointed leaves.

White small flowers collected in double (complex) umbrellas with approximately 10-15 rays. Its important difference is the absence of wrappers, but they are available with 8-12 leaves for each umbrella.

Hemlock is a plant with small fruits. They consist of 2 hemispherical brown achenes. Each of them with outside has 5 wide longitudinal ribs, and their inner sides face each other. They are lighter in color, with a dark wide stripe in the middle. The plant propagates by seeds.

Distribution, places of growth

Hemlock is a plant that loves wet, wet places. It can be located right in a reservoir (near the shore), and is also found in swamps. Poisonous weed does not grow in dry meadows.

Distribution area in geographically wide: Eastern Europe, northern parts of Asia, Western Europe and North America. In Russia it is distributed almost everywhere.

This plant develops faster than others in the spring, so it stands out with its size against the general background, attracting large-horned animals.

Chemical composition of the plant, application

Cicuta is a plant containing the following substances: cicutotoxin (the most poisonous principle in the root resin), which can paralyze breathing; cicutin; essential oils etc.

All parts of the plant are very dangerous, but its rhizome is especially poisonous.

In Russia in folk medicine rhizomes and roots of hemlock were used externally in the form of ointments and tinctures. They were used for rheumatism, skin diseases, gout. The plant also had important in homeopathy.

Hemlock seeds and root contain hemlock oil, or cicutol. Cicutoxin and other toxic substances of the plant are not destroyed under the influence of high temperatures, and not at all long-term storage. Even dried hemlock contains dangerous poison.

The plant is still used in medicine. The leaves, stems, roots and flowers of the plant are used to make quite effective medications, used in treatment various diseases. In small doses, substances from rhizomes and roots act soothingly, inhibiting nervous system and motor activity. They lower blood pressure and have a diuretic effect.

Symptoms of poisoning

Hemlock is a scary plant. Literally a couple of minutes after the poison enters the body, nausea, vomiting and abdominal cramps appear, followed by dizziness, gait becomes uncertain and even appears. At the same time, the pupils dilate, convulsions and epileptiform seizures occur, which can result in paralysis and death.

To prevent the worst, the victim needs to quickly and correctly provide first aid.

In conclusion, about actions in case of poisoning

The most important thing is to rinse the victim’s stomach as soon as possible with a solution of activated carbon and tannin.

Then you should urgently transport him to medical institution where infusion therapy and hemosorption (blood purification) should be carried out. It is worth noting that therapeutic measures are difficult due to the fact that the victim’s teeth are clenched tightly.

Everyone should definitely remember that hemlock is a very dangerous plant! And in order to avoid poisoning, you must remember the following:

• Do not eat the roots and leaves of suspicious inedible plants.
• Wash your hands after touching suspicious flora.
• If you have no knowledge and experience, stay away from plants

You should definitely remember that it is not recommended to use medications from the vekha poison yourself, without sufficient knowledge and experience!

(Veh poisonous, water hemlock) - poisonous plant from the celery (umbrella) family. The whole plant is poisonous, but especially the rhizome. Hemlock greens have a rather pleasant carrot-celery smell, and the rhizome tastes like rutabaga. Grows mainly on wet areas: along the banks of rivers, lakes, ponds, along deep ditches, garden ponds.

Hemlock grows in almost all regions of Russia, in Western Europe, Asia and North America. Perennial. It develops faster than other field grasses and in spring stands out well against the general background of vegetation with its large, sharp-toothed, dissected, dark green, succulent leaves, similar to the leaves of parsley or carrots. They attract domestic herbivores.

Poisonous weed is very weak in the soil, so cows and sheep often eat this plant along with the rhizome, resulting in severe poisoning and even death. In history, there are cases of painful deaths of shepherds and escaped convicts from hemlock root, who mistook it for an edible root vegetable.

Hemlock is a tall plant up to 1.2 m. The stem is hollow, branched, smooth. The flowers are small and white. The poisonous wedge blooms in July–August. Collected in characteristic umbrella inflorescences. Due to its similarity with another poisonous plant, spotted hemlock, poisonous hemlock is sometimes called water hemlock. The main external distinguishing feature of hemlock from hemlock is the presence on the lower part of its smooth, blue-tinged stem, dark red spots and a powdery coating.

The rhizome of the poisonous vek is vertical, thick, fleshy, with thin, weak roots. That is why it is so easily pulled out of the ground. It is easy to identify the hemlock rhizome. If you cut it lengthwise, you will notice in the pulp the presence of transverse cavities with a yellowish liquid. The main poison of the milestone is the substance cicutoxin, the concentration of which is maximum in early spring and late autumn.

Eating hemlock root causes nausea and vomiting, severe pain in the lower abdomen, feeling of thirst, dizziness, convulsions, difficulty breathing, paralysis of the tongue, severe weakness and foaming at the mouth. In case of overdose, death is possible within an hour from paralysis of the respiratory center.

First aid: intensive gastric lavage with a 0.1% solution of potassium permanganate, taking 5 - 10 tablets activated carbon, the use of high cleansing enemas, drinking plenty of liquid jelly. If necessary, do artificial respiration. In case of hemlock poisoning, it is important not to delay time and immediately take the victim to the hospital.

Family Umbrella, widespread in Europe.

Encyclopedic YouTube

1 / 1

✪ 5 most DEADLY plants on Earth!

Subtitles

Botanical description

Template:Biophoto Vekh poisonous - perennial herbaceous plant up to 1-1.2 m high with a characteristic vertical white fleshy rhizome with numerous small and thin roots. A longitudinal section in the rhizome reveals a number of transverse cavities filled with yellowish liquid. This is a characteristic distinguishing feature of a milestone. The roots are succulent, up to 0.5 cm thick.

The stem is smooth, branched, hollow at the internodes, with a reddish coating; at the top it branches many times.

The vaginal leaves are large, long-petiolate, sharp-toothed at the edges, double-pinnate, the lower ones are almost trippinnate-dissected with linear-lanceolate, pointed and sharply serrate leaves. The stem leaves become smaller and simpler as they approach the apex.

Small white bisexual or staminate flowers are collected in complex (double) umbels with 10-15 main rays. There are no wrappers ( important difference from hemlock spotted), however, there are involucres with 8-12 leaves for each umbrella. A separate flower is built according to the five-fold system. In bisexual flowers, the calyx teeth are clearly visible. Staminate flowers in the main umbel are rare and are found in the middle of the lateral umbels. They differ from bisexual flowers in the underdevelopment of the ovary and style. Blooms in the second half of summer (July - August).

The fruits are small, 1.5-1.8 mm long, consisting of two hemispherical achenes Brown; on the outside of each achene there are five wide longitudinal ribs; internal sides each achene faces each other, almost flat, lighter in color, with a wide dark stripe in the middle. Propagated by seeds.

Distribution and habitat

Distributed throughout Eastern Europe, as well as in the northern parts of Western Europe, Asia and North America.

In Russia - almost everywhere.

Veh poisonous grows in low swampy meadows, along the banks of rivers, streams and ponds, in ditches, where there is a sufficient amount of water. In spring, this plant grows faster than others and stands out against the general background for its size, attracting the attention of animals. Greens, and especially the rhizome, have a specific, slightly intoxicating odor that resembles the smell edible plant celery (Apium graveolens L.).

Toxicology

Vöh is one of the most poisonous plants. This plant is especially insidious because taste qualities [ ] . The most thorough study of the poisonous properties of veh was carried out in the 70s of the 19th century by R. Boehm in Dorpat. An experimental study of the toxicity of the poisonous weed for farm and laboratory animals was carried out by N. G. Kozhemyakin in 1954.

The toxic principle is amorphous cicutoxin. Its content reaches 0.2% in fresh and up to 3.5% in dry rhizomes. Cicutoxin was isolated in 1875 by Boehm in the form of light yellow oily droplets, which later turned into a light brown, homogeneous, viscous, resin-like mass with an unpleasant bitter taste and no particular odor. Cicutoxin dissolves well, without residue, in ether, chloroform, as well as in boiling water and alkaline solutions. When exposed to concentrated acids and alkalis, cicutoxin is destroyed. According to modern data, he is neither

Hemlock is one of the most poisonous plants in the world. It grows everywhere in Russia. It is very similar to moth and parsley, smells like parsley, tastes sweetish. Death from hemlock occurs very quickly; a person will not have time and will not be able to physically get to the doctor. Found in several varieties. Death occurs from respiratory paralysis. Every year, many animals and people die from poisoning from this plant.

Hemlock (veh poisonous) is a plant of perennial aquatic and marsh herbs of the Umbelliferae family (about 10 species), with the smell of parsley (or celery).

Grows mainly in North America. In Eurasia, along the banks of rivers, canals, and in swamps, poisonous weed grows, all parts of which contain a toxin that causes poisoning (often fatal) in humans and domestic animals. Because of its resemblance to spotted hemlock, poisonous hemlock is sometimes called water hemlock. These plants are similar both in appearance and in their medicinal effects. Therefore, they are often talked about together.

IN Ancient Greece Hemlock was used as an official poison, which was used to poison those sentenced to death. The most famous victim of the poisonous hemlock is the philosopher Socrates. Having been sentenced to death in 399 BC. e. Socrates received a large dose of hemlock. However, Greek hemlock is a hemlock (omeg), not a weh.

Hemlock grows throughout almost the entire European part of Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, the Caucasus, Central Asia and Western Siberia, it can be found in sedge-mossy and grassy swamps of the transitional type, along ditches, on forest edges, along river banks, bushes, on the slopes of ravines, near housing and in crops.

The rhizome of hemlock (poisonous plant) is completely dense and almost round in early spring, oblong in autumn, hollow inside and divided by transverse partitions into separate chambers. The stem is hollow inside, finely grooved, up to 130 cm in height, branched at the top. The leaves are on long petioles, double-pinnate, and below triple-pinnate. Umbrellas with 10-20 smooth rays, no involucre or it consists of 1-2 leaflets, involucre - of 8-12 linear leaflets. The flowers are white, the fruits are almost round. The flowers are small and white. The poisonous wedge blooms in July-August. Depending on the time of year and climatic conditions its toxicity changes. In spring, the rhizome is more poisonous. The flowers are collected in characteristic umbrella inflorescences.

Hemlock and hemlock seeds contain various alkaloids (horse meat, cicutoxin, etc.), as well as essential oils. They are used to prepare tinctures. Used to treat cancer. In addition, tinctures of these plants are analgesic and anticonvulsant, and are used to treat epilepsy, tetanus convulsions, migraines, dizziness and malaise caused by worms.

The main external distinguishing feature of hemlock from hemlock is the presence on the lower part of its smooth, blue-tinged stem, dark red spots and a powdery coating.

The rhizome of the poisonous hemlock (hemlock) is vertical, thick, fleshy, with thin, weak roots. That is why it is so easily pulled out of the ground. It is easy to identify the hemlock rhizome. If you cut it lengthwise, you will notice in the pulp the presence of transverse cavities with a yellowish liquid. This yellow resin contains cicutoxin, which disrupts the central nervous system.

Symptoms of poisoning appear a few minutes after entering the body, since cicutotoxin is very quickly absorbed in the gastrointestinal tract.

Hemlock poison has a pronounced convulsive effect and mainly affects the central nervous system. Symptoms of poisoning with hemlock: bitterness in the mouth, feeling of thirst, abdominal pain, nausea, salivation, vomiting, respiratory and circulatory disorders, delirium, convulsions, dizziness, difficulty breathing, paralysis of the tongue, severe weakness and foam at the mouth. Death occurs from respiratory paralysis.

A single bite of the root (which has the highest concentration of cicutoxin) may be enough to cause death. In animals, the poisonous dose and lethal dose are approximately the same. One gram of water hemlock per kilogram of weight will kill a sheep and 230 grams is enough to kill a horse. Due to the rapid onset of symptoms, treatment is usually unsuccessful.

The maximum concentration of poison in hemlock is in early spring and late autumn!

First aid: In case of poisoning with a milestone, it is necessary to urgently rinse the stomach, for this you can use a 0.1% solution of potassium permanganate, take 5 - 10 tablets of activated carbon, use high cleansing enemas, drink plenty of liquid jelly, drink emetics, vinegar and black coffee (in case of poisoning poisonous plants (vekh, henbane, datura, belladonna) or carbon monoxide Give the patient a teaspoon of roasted coffee seed powder to eat without drinking anything. Take four such doses at intervals of 30 minutes).

If necessary, perform artificial respiration. In case of hemlock poisoning, it is important not to delay time and immediately take the victim to the hospital.

Remember that this plant is highly poisonous, especially the rhizome!

Due to its toxicity, hemlock is rarely used in folk medicine, but where it is still used, it brings enormous benefits.

In slow-flowing waters and ditches, on swampy banks of rivers, lakes and ponds, in wet and damp meadows throughout almost the entire territory of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, poisonous hemlock grows.

This is a herbaceous perennial plant up to 1 meter high with a thick, fleshy rhizome of turnip-shaped or round shape, growing in swamp mud. to his appearance it looks like celery or turnip root, has a pleasant smell and taste, reminiscent of parsley. The hemlock rhizome is easy to recognize. When you cut it lengthwise, you will notice that inside it is divided by transverse partitions into separate cavities, or chambers. Amber-yellow oil stains are visible on the partitions.

The stem is bare, branched upward, with a reddish coating, having shortened hollow internodes. The base is relatively thick and then thins out to the point of branching. The stem leaves become smaller as they approach the top.

Hemlock blooms in July-August. Hemlock flowers are small, white and have five petals, five stamens, one queen with two free styles. Placed in a complex umbrella of 10-15 main rays. Each of them in turn ends with a small umbrella. At the base of the umbrella there are 8-10 narrow linear leaves forming a spathe, but at the base of the main umbrella there are no such leaves or only 1-2. This feature is characteristic of hemlock and distinguishes it from other plants of the Apiaceae family.

Flowers in complex umbels are bisexual and staminate. Staminate flowers are rare in the main umbel; lateral flowers are found inside. They differ from bisexuals by incomplete development or underdevelopment of the ovary style. In bisexual flowers, the calyx teeth are clearly visible.

The fruit of hemlock is two-seeded, 1.5-2 mm long, slightly flattened on the sides, round, with flat ribs. When ripe, they split into two separate fruits.

Signs of hemlock poisoning

Hemlock is a very poisonous plant, its poisonous properties vary depending on the time of year and climatic conditions.

The most poisonous part of hemlock is the rhizome. In spring it contains up to 0.2% toxic substance– cicutotoxin, acting on the oblongata and spinal cord person. When poisoning with hemlock, first a sweetish-mealy taste is felt, and then a bitter taste. Irritation of the gastrointestinal tract with nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. Poisoning is accompanied by a disorder in the activity of the heart, dizziness, general weakness, convulsions, loss of consciousness during convulsive attacks. The poison acts mainly on the nervous system. Death occurs within 10 hours from respiratory paralysis.

Hemlock (veh poisonous) photo:

They are poisoned by hemlock mainly due to the fact that the hemlock rhizome is considered celery root. Very dangerous plant and for animals when they eat fresh stems and leaves or when parts of the plant fall into the hay.

Accidental admixture of hemlock in animal feed causes salivation, bloating, diarrhea, distortion of the eyes, neck, head, convulsions and even death. In case of hemlock poisoning, it is necessary to perform gastric lavage and induce vomiting.

To prevent hemlock poisoning, wetlands are dried out, plowed up, the plants are pulled out with roots and burned.

Read also:

• Myrtle is one of the indoor perennials, the sight of which makes gardeners want to purchase it. This is a small tree […]
• Spathiphyllum (lat. Spathiphyllum) is a popular indoor plant, refers to evergreen, perennial family Aroid. Grows in […]
• Tillandsia (lat. Tillandsia) is a herbaceous plant, it belongs to the Bromeliad family. About 500 species are known. Meet […]