Poison hemlock (Cicuta douglasii or Cicuta mackenzieana) is found along streams. The poisonous Cicuta douglasii most closely resembles the herb Angelica lucida. (Kari 1995) “The Cicutas have been called the most violently poisonous plants in the North Temperate Zone. Just one bite of the rootstock is enough to terminate one’s life on a most unpleasant note.” Socrates was a victim of different species of poison hemlock, Conium maculatum, though “equally deadly.” Children are often poisoned who might “make whistles from the hollow stems” or be tempted to nibble “roots brought to the surface by spring frost action.” Adults have been poisoned by mistaking “the roots as a wild parsnip” (Heracleum lanatum) and “sometimes carelessly” identified by foragers, who might add poison hemlock leaves to potherb mixtures. Other indigenous uses include “Oregon Indians” who “soaked arrows in Cicuta juice, rattlesnake venom, and decayed deer liver to poison tips for hunting.” (Schofield 1998) 

References

Hultén, Eric. Flora of Alaska and Neighboring Territories: A Manual of the Vascular Plants, 1968.

Kari, Priscilla Russell. Tanaina Plantlore Dena’ina K’et’una: An Ethnobotany of the Dena’ina Indians of Southcentral Alaska. Alaska Native Language Center (University of Alaska Fairbanks), Alaska Natural History Association, National Park Service, fourth edition, 1995. 

Russell, Priscilla N. English Bay and Port Graham Alutiiq Plantlore. Pratt Museum (Homer Society of Natural History), Chugach Heritage Foundation, and Alaska Native Plant Society, 1991.

Schofield, Janice J. Discovering Wild Plants: Alaska, Western Canada, The Northwest, fourth printing. Anchorage, AK, Alaska Northwest Books, 1998.

Viereck, Eleanor G. Alaska’s Wilderness Medicines: Healthful Plants of the Far North. Alaska Northwest Books, Fifth printing, 1995.

Author

Cecelia N. Dailey, 28 August 2025