Water hemlocks

Water hemlocks
	Water hemlock ( Cicuta virosa ), illustration
Systematics
	Nuclear eudicotyledons
	Asterids
	Euasterids II
Order :	Umbelliferae (Apiales)
Family :	Umbelliferae (Apiaceae)
Genre :	Water hemlocks
Scientific name
	Cicuta
	L.

The water hemlocks ( Cicuta ) are a genus of plants from the umbelliferae family . The only European representative is the water hemlock ( Cicuta virosa ), which is highly poisonous like all species .

Water hemlock ( Cicuta virosa )

features

The representatives are perennial , hairless marsh and water plants . The stem is upright, hollow and usually only branched upwards. The rhizome is bulky and thickened and divided inside by transverse partitions into chambers lying one above the other. The leaves are stalked and double to triple pinnate. The last-order sections are elongated-lanceolate or linear and sawed on the edge. The flowers are in composite, multi-rayed umbels . An envelope is missing or consists of only a few leaves, the envelope is three to eight leaved. The flowers are partly hermaphrodite, partly purely male. The calyx rim has five distinct teeth that are broadly triangular. The petals are pure white or reddish. Its tip is sanded and has a narrow, tapped lobe. The styles are long, slender and finally bent back. The ovary is hairless.

The fruit is almost spherical and slightly compressed on the sides. It has broad, flat and blunt main ribs. The oil welts stand individually under the valleys, there are two on the joint surface. The fruit holders are free and in two parts.

ingredients

All species contain cicutoxin and are therefore very toxic to humans.

distribution

The representatives occur in the northern temperate zones and grow as swamp and water plants.

Cicuta bulbifera

Systematics

The genus Cicuta (Latin for 'hemlock'; the origin of the word cicuta is unknown) is placed within the family Apiaceae in the subfamily Apioideae . The information on the number of species varies between three and eight.

Only European species:

Water hemlock ( Cicuta virosa L. ). It occurs in Europe, Asia and North America.

Other types are (selection):

Cicuta bulbifera L .: The range includes Alaska, Canada and the USA.
Cicuta douglasii (DC.) JM Coult. & Rose : The range includes Alaska, British Columbia and the western United States.
Cicuta maculata L .: The range includes Alaska, Canada, the USA and Mexico.

The generic name Cicuta comes from the ancient name of the spotted hemlock ( Conium maculatum ).

supporting documents

Siegmund Seybold (Ed.): Schmeil-Fitschen interactive (CD-Rom), Quelle & Meyer, Wiebelsheim 2001/2002, ISBN 3-494-01327-6

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b Flora of China , Volume 14, p. 77. (online)
↑ Helmut Genaust: Etymological dictionary of botanical plant names. Birkhäuser, Basel / Stuttgart 1976, ISBN 3-7643-0755-2 , p. 112.
^ Manfred A. Fischer , Karl Oswald, Wolfgang Adler: Excursion flora for Austria, Liechtenstein and South Tyrol. 3rd, improved edition. State of Upper Austria, Biology Center of the Upper Austrian State Museums, Linz 2008, ISBN 978-3-85474-187-9 .
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d Apiaceae in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), USDA , ARS , National Genetic Resources Program. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland. Retrieved May 23, 2014.

Web links

Commons : Wasserschierlinge ( Cicuta ) - Collection of images, videos and audio files

[FoC-1] Flora of China , Volume 14, p. 77. (online)

[2] Helmut Genaust: Etymological dictionary of botanical plant names. Birkhäuser, Basel / Stuttgart 1976, ISBN 3-7643-0755-2 , p. 112.

[3] Manfred A. Fischer , Karl Oswald, Wolfgang Adler: Excursion flora for Austria, Liechtenstein and South Tyrol. 3rd, improved edition. State of Upper Austria, Biology Center of the Upper Austrian State Museums, Linz 2008, ISBN 978-3-85474-187-9 .

[GRIN-4] Apiaceae in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), USDA , ARS , National Genetic Resources Program. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland. Retrieved May 23, 2014.