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Spotted Cowbane (Cicuta maculata)
Image ID: ar14
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Other common names: Water Hemlock
Native
Family:
Apiaceae (Parsley)
Height: 3 to 6 ft.
Blooms: June to
September
Leaf Type:
divided
Bloom Size: 0.15 in. (typical)
Flower Description:
Flat or rounded clusters,
Regular blooms, parts
Location: Allegheny River Trail
Date: 7/20/2002
Notes:
Highly poisonous.
More photos of this flower
Spotted Cowbane may be
easily confused with:
- Cow Parsnip
Cow parsnip has thicker stems and larger flower heads.
- Eastern Hemlock-Parsley
Cowbane had multiply compound leaves, while hemlock-parsley had a fern-like leaf. Cowbane stems also tend to have steaks or area of magenta tint. These two plants are particularly hard to tell apart, which is problematic due to the high toxicity of spotted cowbane.
- Poison Hemlock
Cowbane has a divided leaf with lanceolate leaflets. Poison hemlock has a lacier, fern-like leaf.
- Queen Anne's Lace
Queen Anne's lace has a delicate, carrot-like leaf, while cowbane has divided leave with lanceate leaflets.
- Sweet Cicely
Sweet cicely is a small plant with loosely clustered flowers
We started out as wildflowers from the bicycle trails of western Pennsylvania, but we've
grown!
Meyer, Joseph E. (1918). The Herbalist and Herb Doctor. Hammond, Ind.: Indiana Herb Gardens. 400 pp.
