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''Cicuta virosa'' (cowbane or northern water hemlock) is a species of ''Cicuta'', native to northern and central Europe, northern Asia and northwestern North America. It is a perennial herbaceous plant which grows up to 1–2 m tall. The stems are smooth, branching, swollen at the base, purple-striped, and hollow except for partitions at the junction of the leaves and stem. In cross section the stems have one flat side and the other sides are rounded. The leaves are alternate, tripinnate, only coarsely toothed, unlike the ferny, lacy leaves found in many other members of the family ''Apiaceae''. The flowers are small, white and clustered in umbrella shaped inflorescences typical of the family. The many flowered umbellets have unequal pedicels that range from 5 to 11 cm long during fruiting. An oily, yellow liquid oozes from cuts to the stems and roots. This liquid has a rank smell resembling that of parsnips or carrots. The plant may be mistaken for parsnip due to its clusters of white tuberous roots. It grows in wet meadows, along streambanks and other wet and marshy areas. == History == There has been some dispute whether it was a hemlock of the genus ''Cicuta'' or the genus ''Conium'' which was used in ancient Greece as state poison. This poison was administered as a method of capital punishment and certainly the Greek philosopher Socrates drank a cup of some kind of hemlock infusion at his execution in 399 BC. ''Cicuta virosa'' is however primarily a northern European species, rare or absent from the Mediterranean region, making its use in Greece unlikely. See Poison hemlock for more information. The typical dose, however, was not always immediately fatal. Sometimes it was necessary to administer a second cup of the poison. :''...having drunk all the Hemlock juice, the quantity was found insufficient and the executioner refused to prepare more unless he was paid 12 drachmas.'' :—from an account of the execution of Phocion Considering the toxicity of Water Hemlock, this may be a case of misidentification. In the past, this plant has had a number of colorful names including Beaver-poison, Children's-bane, Snakeweed and Musquash-poison.〔Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913.'' An illustrated flora of the Northern United States, Canada from Newfoundland to the parallel of the southern boundary of Virginia, and from the Atlantic Ocean westward to the 102nd meridian''. (): Scribner.ISBN 0486226433 page 658.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Cicuta virosa」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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