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Hemlock water dropwort (Oenanthe crocata ) is perhaps the most poisonous indigenous plant in Britain. 1 It is a member of the Umbellifer family and is found in ditches, damp meadows, in steams, by riverbanks, and in marshes. It is a large, stout plant between three and five feet high that flowers in July. The lower stem is usually thick and joins to clusters of fleshy tubers that gives rise to the popular name "dead man's fingers".
The entire plant is poisonous. The tubers, stems, and leaves contain oenanthotoxin, a highly unsaturated higher alcohol, which is known to be poisonous and a powerful convulsant. 2
The majority of the umbellifer family are harmless. These include species of celery, parsley, parsnip, and carrots. The poisonous members are hemlock (Conium maculatum ), cowbane (Cicuta virosa ), and hemlock water dropwort. 3
Poisoning by hemlock water droplet is an infrequent event. A number of human fatalities have occurred over the years, although animals are its usual victims.
CASE HISTORY
A group of eight young adults who were on holiday in Argyll collected what they thought were water parsnips from a small stream. The roots were cleaned, chopped, and added to a curry. All consumed the curry, but the majority of the group only had a small amount of the root, which was easily identifiable in the curry, partly because there was some doubt regarding its nature and partly because of its bitter taste.
Early the next morning, 10 hours after ingestion one of the group had a witnessed grand mal seizure lasting about five minutes. He was taken to the community hospital and was in a post-ictal state. No connection at this point was made with the ingestion of the plant root the night before.
Gradually over the course of the next four hours a number...