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Conium maculatum

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Author:  Carl Linnaeus, 1753
Family:  APIACEAE
Origin:  Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Austria, Baleares, Baltic States, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Central European Russia, Corse, Cyprus, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, East Aegean Island, East European Russia, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kirgizstan, Kriti, Krym, Lebanon-Syria, Libya, Morocco, Netherlands, North Caucasus, Pakistan, Palestine, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sardegna, Saudi Arabia, Sicilia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tadzhikistan, Transcaucasus, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Xinjiang, Yemen, Yugoslavia (Now North America)
Soil:  Peat - Mix
Water:  Medium
Sun:  Medium
Thickness:  3 Centimetres
Height:  2,5 Meters
Flower:  White
Propagate:  Seeds/Roots
Names:  Skarntyde, Hemlock, Gefleckter Schierling, Myrkkykatko, Grande ciguë, Szczwól plamisty, Gevlekte scheerling, Cicuta, Täpiline Surmaputk, Water Hemlock
Synonyms:  Selinum conium E.H.L.Krause.
Cicuta major, Lam.
Cicuta officinalis,
Crantz.
Conium ceretanum,
Sennen.
Conium cicuta,
Neck.
Conium croaticum,
Waldst. & Kit. ex Willd.
Conium maculatum
var. barceloi, O.Bolňs & Vigo
Conium maculatum
subsp. viride, Espeut
Conium maculosum,
Pall.
Conium nodosum,
Fisch. ex Steud.
Conium pyrenaicum,
Sennen & Elías.
Conium sibiricum,
Steud.
Conium strictum,
Tratt.
Conium tenuifolium,
Mill.
Coriandrum cicuta,
Crantz.
Coriandrum maculatum,
Roth.
Sium conium,
Vest.

This member of the Apiaceae family was described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753. It is found in most of Europe and has been introduced to North America. It grows in rich or well-drained soil with some water and some to a lots of sun. The tap-root will get three centimetres in diameter, the whole plant can reach for 2,5 meters. The flowers are white, and beside from seeds, it can be reproduced by dividing the roots, which forms off-shoots.

The genera name references the Greek koneios; 'spin' or 'whirl', alluding to the dizzying effects of the plant's poison after ingestion. The species name means 'spotted, stained or blotched'.