Talk:Cicuta virosa

There seems to be some debate as to whether Socrates was killed by poison hemlock or water hemlock. Both are of course deadly, but water hemlock appears to cause nausea, which wasn't reported by Plato (see quote in poison hemlock).

Whilst I'd believe that multiple doses of poison hemlock were necessary I'd be very surpised if you'd need multiple doses of water hemlock. It would appear that a single bite of the root would be sufficient. See for more information about the pathophysiology of the two.

As a result I'm going to leave in my new section about Socrates in the poison hemlock page and update this one to make it more interesting.

If you get to the rest of the article on the emedicine page (registration may be required), then it does list nausea and vomiting as one of the symptoms of both poison hemlock and water hemlock ingestion. Water hemlock appears to be more likely to produce nausea as its initial effects are those of gastro-intestinal poisoning.

Water hemlock definitely appears to be the most deadly of the two. If my understanding of the material is correct, water hemlock is more likely to result in seizures and convulsions, whereas poison hemlock results in paralysis and respiratory arrest. The quote from Plato would suggest tha latter.

--pjf 06:16, 24 Oct 2004 (UTC)

I wonder if there should be additional cautionary text about handling poison hemlock and water hemlock. I've heard reports of kids being poisoned by using the hollow stems of dead poison hemlock stalks to make wood flutes. It remains toxic for a couple of years after its death.

The picture contains a good drawing of the distinctive chambered root of water hemlock, which can be used to discriminate it from other plants by cutting the root lengthwise. It is of vital importance that any knife used for this purpose be thoroughly cleaned prior to any other use

Carrots or mice?
Am I reading the description correctly? Mice smell like carrots? --Dante Alighieri | Talk 00:35, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

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