Sample Course Section - Hemlock Water-Dropwort
The video above and the text below are taken directly from the Frontier Bushcraft Tree & Plant Identification Masterclass. This is an example of one section from the course. There are over 130 sections in the course, spread over 12 modules. This is one of the shortest sections in the course but it highlights a species which is important to know, from the perspective of risk-avoidance, and I am happy to share it here with you for free. Please watch the video and read the information below for an idea of the type and quality of material you will gain access to by joining the Tree & Plant Identification Masterclass. To get instant access to the course, click the button above, then choose the purchase option that suits you best.Â
Hemlock Water Dropwort
Hemlock water dropwort, Oenanthe crocata, is a member of the carrot family, Apiaceae.
It occurs in ditches and damp ground.
The plant is highly toxic, certainly one of the most toxic plants present in Britain and Northern Europe. It is responsible for numerous recorded cases of plant poisoning in humans, some fatal. It has also caused cases of poisoning of livestock. One raw tuber is considered sufficient to kill a cow.
The main toxin in hemlock water dropwort (HWD) is Oenanthetoxin, a polyacetylenic alcohol, similar to the toxin also found in the highly poisonous Cowbane, Cicuta virosa, (also known as Water Hemlock, particularly in North America).
Oenanthetoxin is contained in all parts of HWD but less concentrated in the leaves, more concentrated in the stem and most concentrated in the tuberous roots, which have been mistaken for wild parsnips or wild carrots. Concentration of the toxin is considered to be highest in the winter and spring.
HWD also contains other acetylenic toxins.
In addition, HWD contains linear fuarnocumarins, being responsible for similar phototoxicity and photosensitivity to other Apiaceae, most notably Giant Hogweed, (see elsewhere in Module 6 for more information on the latter).
More information on these toxins - the nature of which are still poorly understood by science - can be found in the following articles and references.
Note: Umbellifers and Umbelliferae are old, deprecated names for the carrot family. The current scientific name is Apiaceae.
Polyacetylenes from Sardinian Oenanthe fistulosa: A Molecular Clue to risus sardonicus
Bioactive polyacetylenes in food plants of the Apiaceae family: occurrence, bioactivity and analysis
Case Studies
Thameside Foraging
The case of a 26 year-old man, who had foraged duck eggs and nettles as well as Hemlock Water Dropwort leaves and roots on the banks of the river Thames. His 20 year-old female companion also consumed some of the plant, but a smaller quantity. Reported in the following article from 1987 under Clinical Toxicology in the Postgraduate Medial Journal.
Hemlock Water Dropwort Poisoning, Postgraduate Medical Journal (1987) 63, 363-365
Hemlock Water Dropwort Curry
The following is an interesting case of consumption of HWD tubers by eight people in Argyll, Scotland reported in 2002 in the Emergency Medicine Journal (Emerg Med J 2002;19:472-473 doi:10.1136/emj.19.5.472). Please note, however, that even though this is published in the BMJ, the assertion that "The majority of the umbellifer family are harmless....The poisonous members are hemlock (Conium maculatum), cowbane (Cicuta virosa), and hemlock water dropwort." is incomplete and misleading.
A hemlock water dropwort curry: a case of multiple poisoning
Seizures and Death on a White River Float Trip
The following journal article from 1985 (West J Med 1985 May; 142:637-640) goes into some detail regarding Cicutoxin poisoning follwing the ingestion of water hemlock in the United States. This is also useful to read given the similarity of the plant to HWD as well as the similarity of the toxins.Â
Seizures and Death on a White River Float Trip - Report of Water Hemlock Poisoning
Living Off The Land - Greater Risks Further Away From Medical Assistance
The abstract of the final paper linked above perfectly sums up the dangers of being ill-prepared for living off the land:
“Many people who are ill prepared physically or emotionally to survive will find themselves isolated and in extremely dangerous situations without access to medical help. In addition to the physical dangers of drowning, there are dangers that exist in the concept of “living off the land” and foraging for food.“
When foraging It's always worth remembering the old adage "If in doubt, leave it out".
But if you don't know how to identify any sustaining wild food plants, you are going to go hungry.
So, the logical answer is to be well-prepared by honing your identification skills. To this end, you can get started with the Tree & Plant Identification Masterclass today.