WILD CARROTS AND HEMLOCK
While
out walking last week I realised the grassy bank was covered in new
smallish plants. I thought I recognised this plant as a wild carrot. I
know it grows around here, this is the perfect habitat, grassy, wild and
by the sea. I thought it could be useful, I thought if I collected some
I could taker it home, positively identify it and maybe even use it.
Enjoying my walk and happily wandered along the cliff edge path I
occasionally stopped to put some of this plant in my bag.
WILD CARROT
http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-QuAnnlace.html
Queen Anne's lace or wild carrot, herb ( Daucus carota
) of the family Umbelliferae ( carrot family), native to the Old World
but naturalized and often weedy throughout North America and Europe.
Similar in appearance to the cultivated carrot (which was derived from
this plant), it has feathery foliage but a woody root. The tiny white
flowers bloom in a lacy, flat-topped cluster (called an umbel) until
they die off, when the cluster becomes nest-shaped. The plant was
formerly used in folk medicine as a diuretic and a stimulant. Queen
Anne's lace is classified in the , class Magnoliopsida, order Apiales,
family Umbelliferae.
Diuretic
and stimulant. An infusion of the whole herb is considered an active
and valuable remedy in the treatment of chronic kidney diseases and
affections of the bladder. The infusion, made from 1 OZ. of the herb in a
pint of boiling water, is taken in wineglassful doses. Carrot tea
brewed in this way from the whole front, is considered excellent for a
variety of arthritic conditions.
The
seeds are very useful in flatulence, colic, hiccough, dysentery,
coughs, etc. The dose of the seeds, bruised, is from one-third to one
teaspoonful, repeated as necessary. They were at one time considered a
valuable remedy for calculus complaints. They have a slight aromatic
smell and a warm, pungent taste. They add an agreeable flavour to malt
liquor, if infused in it while working in the vat. Traditionally, in
herbal medicine a poultice made of the roots and applied to ulcers.
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HEMLOCK
A
very poisonous plant, the toxins are especially concentrated in the
seed. The stems contain up to 0.06% of the toxic alkaloids, the leaves
between 0.03 and 0.8%, the flowers from 0.09 to 0.24% and the green
fruit from 0.73 to 0.98%. The toxins, however, are very volatile and
decompose readily especially when the plant is dried or cookedThe toxins
paralyse the respiratory nerves, causing death by suffocation. Children
have been known to die after using the hollow stems as blowpipes. The
poisonous nature of the plant varies considerably, with many people
believing that the plant is less toxic when grown in cooler climates,
but this is not scientifically recognised. It grows through out Europe,
Scandinavia and America.
http://www.thepoisongarden.co.uk/atoz/conium_maculatum.htm
How Poisonous, How Harmful?
Five alkaloids are present. Coniine is the most important but it also has Conhydrine, pseudoconhydrine, methyl-coniine and ethyl-piperidine. It is a violent
emetic and convulsive, it causes paralysis of central and peripheral
nervous system and death by respiratory failure. In Plato’s ‘Phaedo’ the
fictionalised account of Socrates’ death there is no mention of nausea
and vomiting. It may be that whilst the plant material is emetic juice
obtained from squeezing the stalks does not have this effect.
Being
a member of the same family as carrot and fennel, there have been
instances of poisonous hemlock being mistaken for an edible plant.
What
plant did I have you ask??? I have no idea, I didn’t keep it long
enough to find out, it is now quietly rotting in my compostor.
Found this video, thought it was quite funny and it fits well with the
topic, apologies about the poor quality of the video though, I included
it because thought it was funny.
13 Comments
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Well, it looks like the carrot leaves are rounder. Is there any difference in smell? Ah, just read previous comment. :-)
The varieties that we cultivate have been chosen over the years, bred, for their qualities. A wild carrot is still a carrot. I do think it is important to be sure when harvesting a plant that you have the right one. It's good to have this knowledge, just in case. One never knows when famine might strike. |
grandmagardener wrote on Oct 16, '08
I
harvest the seeds as well as center each year (the red center helps
seizures among other things) and have posted about this myself. The one
sure way to tell is smell. The smell of the hemlock is AWEFUL and the
wild carrot smells like Carrot! Once you use them then you don't think
they look anything alike. But if people are not familar, than it is so
dangerous. Even a tiny bit of this can kill you.
The native americans used them on thier enemies as well as themselves when they knew they were going to die. The root of the carrot is very tasty and can be eaten raw or baked. |
acousticeagle wrote on Oct 16, '08
Herbs and medicinal plants is a whole area that I know virtually nothing about. Very informative blog.
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Hmmmmm and all these years I thought that old Socrates drank a tea made from the Hemlock tree.
As Riley used to say, "What a revoltin' development this turned out to be." The Hemlock plant you pictured looks a lot like some of the weeds around here. And we're nowhere near the sea........ Thanks. Good stuff. Cheers, peace & ((((((S))))) ###################### |
forgetmenot525 wrote on Oct 16, '08
veroniquemariquita said
 The sure way to identify Queen Anne's lace is the one tiny burgandy flowerette in the center of the big white umbel. 
Thank you.................you are the oracle on all things botanical........lol.............thanks vero
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veroniquemariquita wrote on Oct 16, '08
The sure way to identify Queen Anne's lace is the one tiny burgandy flowerette in the center of the big white umbel.
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sandyrose02 wrote on Oct 16, '08, edited on Oct 16, '08
I
liked the blog and the video! I think if you know wild plants and
herbs you are very fortunate indeed and there is some good eating out
there... but we'll remember the video from now on ;)
"flat-topped cluster (called an umbel) until they die off" are chive seed tops called umbels? Mine is in that stage now and I've got to read up about it...so I'll know what stage it's in... |
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starfishred wrote on Oct 16, '08
cool blog thanks loretta
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