Water Hemlock

different and even worse than poison hemlock

looks like: similar to poison hemlock, white umbrella flowers, but grows in wet areas (streams, marshes)

• where: streams, marshes, ditches across north america

• toxic part: roots are most toxic, smell like parsnip when cut

• what happens: cicutoxin causes violent seizures, status epilepticus, death by repeated convulsions

• timeline: rapid onset, 15-60 min, often fatal within hours

• common mistake: foragers thinking the parsnip-smelling roots are wild parsnips. one of the most poisonous plants in north america

• emergency: poison control + ER, hard to treat