Spotted water hemlock: the most toxic plant in North America (2017)
Spotted water hemlock, a carrot-family plant sometimes mistaken for edible relatives like wild carrot or celery, is highlighted as one of the most violently toxic plants in North America, causing lethal convulsions through GABA-receptor antagonism. Commenters explore its contrast with the comparatively “gentler” poison hemlock used on Socrates, the dangers of misidentification when foraging in the Apiaceae family, and how homeopathic preparations labeled with the plant’s name are effectively just water due to extreme dilution. The thread broadens into genetic differences in how related plants (such as cilantro and celery) taste to different people and into wider cautionary views on eating wild plants and mushrooms despite their culinary appeal.
Toxicology and mechanisms
- Water hemlock’s toxin (cicutoxin) disrupts the nervous system via GABA receptors.
- One commenter initially claimed “hyper-exciting” GABA; another corrected that cicutoxin is a GABA antagonist, likening its effects to severe withdrawal (delirium tremens): violent seizures, horrid death.
- Compared with typical organophosphate nerve agents (acting on acetylcholine or AChE), cicutoxin’s mechanism and violence are described as distinct and unusually brutal.
Comparison with poison hemlock and other dangerous plants
- Poison hemlock is in the same family but considered to cause a relatively “gentle” death via respiratory and cardiac failure, contrasted with water hemlock’s total-body convulsions.
- Several relatives in the broader carrot/parsley family (e.g., cow-parsnip, Heracleum species, “hogweed”) cause severe phototoxic reactions: contact plus sunlight → extreme sunburn-like injuries.
- Discussion notes that poison hemlock is common in some regions and remains poisonous even when dead, complicating disposal.
Taste, genetics, and culinary uses
- Long subthread on dislike of celery, cilantro, and sometimes carrots, often described as “soapy,” “grass/paint thinner,” or chemically unpleasant.
- Others defend celery as a core aromatic (mirepoix, soffritto, soups, stews) and as offering texture and “pauses” in flavor.
- Multiple people suspect genetic differences similar to the known cilantro-soap phenomenon; one links carrots, celery, and cilantro via shared ancestry and aldehyde-detecting genes; others note cruciferous vegetables as another aversion.
Homeopathy and dilution
- Noted that homeopathic “Cicuta virosa” preparations at typical potencies (e.g., 30C) are effectively just water.
- Commenters stress negligible side effects because there is essentially no active ingredient, and mock both efficacy and regulation.
Foraging, identification, and risk attitudes
- Strong warnings against foraging Apiaceae due to deadly lookalikes (water hemlock vs wild carrot/Queen Anne’s Lace).
- Some advocate strict caution (“never eat wild plants/mushrooms”), others outline staged testing (visual checks, skin/tongue tests, tiny bites near medical help) but agree laypeople should avoid guessing.
- Emphasis that only plants positively identified as safe should be eaten; field guides may be incomplete.
Suicide, pain, and cultural notes
- Thread discusses historical and cultural choices of painful suicides (e.g., water hemlock for infidelity, self-immolation as protest), with suggested motives: drama, atonement, coercion, or maximizing social impact.