Weed Information: Cicuta maculata (waterhemlock, spotted)
Back to Plant List

Cicuta maculata (waterhemlock, spotted)

Family: Apiaceae

Description

Usually found along the margins of lakes and streams. The flowers in white, umbrella-like clusters; the stems often with purple blotches and arising from a cluster of tuberous roots. If the stem base and root is cut in half length-wise, you will see it is divided into small chambers. From the walls of these chambers, a shiny, yellow substance is exuded. It is EXTREMELY TOXIC. It is very similar to Cicuta douglasii which occurs only in WA, OR, ID, MT, NV, CA, BC, AK and Mackenzie Canada and has elongate cells formed by the small veins on the under-side of the leaf; those of Cicuta maculata are round or square.

Characteristics

Flower Color
  • White
Inflorescence Type (How the flowers are arranged on the plant)
  • Compound umbel
Number of Petals
  • 5 petals
Petal Separation
  • Completely free to base
Petal Tip
  • Rounded
Flower Symmetry
  • Flowers regular
Flower Length (Head length in the Asteraceae)
  • 1 mm (.04 inch)
  • 2 mm (.08 inch)
  • 3 mm (.12 inch)
Flower Width (Head width in the Asteraceae)
  • 1 mm (.04 inch)
  • 2 mm (.08 inch)
  • 3 mm (.12 inch)
Number of Sepals
  • 5 sepals
Sepal Separation
  • Completely free to base
Sepal Tip
  • Pointed
  • Rounded
Flower Sex
  • Bisexual (perfect)
Number of Styles
  • 2 styles
Number of Stamens
  • 5 stamens
Stamens Attached to the Petals
  • Stamens NOT attached to the petals
Stamens Connate (united)
  • Filaments or anthers NOT united

Carpel Separation
  • Carpels united (or one)
Number of Carpels
  • 2 carpels
Ovary Position
  • Inferior (epigynous)
Fruit Type
  • Schizocarp
Fruit Length at Maturity
  • 2 mm (.08 inch)
  • 3 mm (.12 inch)
  • 4 mm (.16 inch)
  • 5 mm (.20 inch)
Fruit Width at Maturity
  • 2 mm (.08 inch)
  • 3 mm (.12 inch)
Burs
  • Fruit or seed NOT bur-like

Leaf Arrangement
  • Alternate
Leaf Type
  • Compound odd pinnate > 8 leaflets
  • Pinnately dissected
Stipules
  • Lacking
Tendrils
  • Tendrils absent
Venation
  • Pinnate
Petiole (leaf stem) Blade Ratio
  • Petiole < 25% total length
  • Petiole 25% - 75% total length
Leaf Length (blade PLUS petiole)
  • 1 - 2 dm (4.0 - 8.0 inches)
  • 2 - 4 dm (8.0 - 16.0 inches)
  • 4 - 6 dm (1.3 - 2.0 feet)
  • > 6 dm (> 2.0 feet)
Leaf Width
  • 1 - 2 dm (4.0 - 8.0 inches)
  • 2 - 4 dm (8.0 - 16.0 inches)
Leaf or Leaflet Margin
  • Dentate
  • Parted
  • Serrate
Leaf or Leaflet Blade Base
  • Acute (cuneate)
  • Rounded
Leaf or Leaflet Tip
  • Acute
Leaf or Leaflet Blade Surface
  • Glabrous (NO hairs)
  • Glaucous
Succulence
  • Not succulent

Milky Juice
  • Juice NOT milky (watery)
Woodiness
  • Herbaceous
Spines or Thorns
  • Spines or Thorns ABSENT
Aromatic (vegetative structures)
  • Not aromatic
  • Aromatic
Life Cycle
  • Perennial
Growth Habit (while flowering)
  • Erect, columnar (narrow)
  • Erect, spherical (bushy)
Plant Height at Maturity
  • 4 - 6 dm (1.3 - 2.0 feet)
  • 6 - 8 dm (2.0 - 2.6 feet)
  • 8 - 10 dm (2.6 - 3.3 feet)
  • 1 - 1.5 meters (3.3 - 5.0 feet)
  • 1.5 - 2.0 meters (5.0 - 6.6 feet)
Wind Dissemination
  • Not wind disseminated
Moisture Regime
  • Semi-aquatic
  • Seasonally saturated
Chlorophyll
  • Present

Stem Cross Section
  • Hollow (flowering stem at maturity)
  • Round
Flowering Stem Leaves
  • Stem uniformly leafy
Main Stem Branches
  • Main stem branched

Root or Vegetative Propagule
  • Tuberous

US State
  • Alabama
  • Arkansas
  • Connecticut
  • Delaware
  • Florida
  • Georgia
  • Illinois
  • Kansas
  • Kentucky
  • Louisiana
  • Massachusetts
  • Maine
  • Michigan
  • Missouri
  • Mississippi
  • North Carolina
  • New Hampshire
  • New Jersey
  • New York
  • Ohio
  • Pennsylvania
  • South Carolina
  • Tennessee
  • Texas
  • Virginia
  • Wisconsin
  • West Virginia
  • Indiana
  • Maryland
  • Rhode Island
  • Vermont
  • Alaska
  • Arizona
  • California
  • Colorado
  • Iowa
  • Idaho
  • Minnesota
  • Montana
  • North Dakota
  • New Mexico
  • Nevada
  • Oklahoma
  • Oregon
  • South Dakota
  • Utah
  • Washington
  • Wyoming
  • Nebraska
Canadian Province or Territory
  • British Columbia
  • New Brunswick
  • Nova Scotia
  • Ontario
  • Prince Edward Island
  • Quebec
  • Alberta
  • Manitoba
  • Saskatchewan
  • Yukon
  • Northwest Territory
Other
  • District of Columbia

  • The Biology of Canadian Weeds: Canadian Journal of Plant Science Vol:61Pg. 93
  • Common Weeds of Canada, Mulligan 1987 (ISBN 0-910053-59-9) See page: 77
  • Common Weeds of the United States, 1971 (ISBN 0-486-20504-5) See page: 278
  • Field Guide To The Common Weeds Of Kansas, 1983 (ISBN 0-7006-0233-X) See page: 80
  • Manual of Ohio Weeds, 1931 Ohio Ag. Exp. Station Bull. # 475, See page: 89
  • Nebraska Weeds, 1979 Nebraska Dept. of Ag., Lincoln NE, See page: 134
  • Ontario Weeds, 1992 Agdex 640, Publication #505 See page: 155
  • Some Important Michigan Weeds, 1951 Mich. Ag. Exp. Station Bulletin #304, See page: 153
  • Some Weedy Plants of North Carolina, 1955 North Carolina Ag. Ext. Circular # 390, See page: 36
  • South Dakota Weeds, 1967 South Dakota State University, See page: 128
  • South Dakota Weeds 2002 South Dakota Dept. of Ag. 523 E. Capitol, Foss Bldg. Pierre, South Dakota 57501 See page: 148
  • Weed Seeds of the Great Plains, 1993 University of Kansas# 92-125-B ISBN# 0-7006-0651-3 See index #: 138
  • Weeds, 1955 (1980) Walter Conrad Muenscher, ISBN# 0-8014-1266-8 See page: 323, 324
  • Weeds, 1957 Illinois State Dept. of Ag., See page: 68
  • Weeds and Poisonous Plants of Wyoming and Utah 1987 (ISBN 0-941570-06-1) See page: 92
  • Weeds of Alberta, 1983 Alberta Environmental Centre Agdex 640-4, See page: 37
  • Weeds of California, 1970, State of California Publications and Documents. See page: 323
  • Weeds of California and other Western States, 2007 (ISBN 13: 978-1-879906-69-3) See Page: 124
  • Weeds of Canada, 1970 Canada Dept. of Ag., Pub. # 948, See page: 129
  • Weeds of Nebraska and the Great Plains, 1994 (ISBN 0939870-00-4) See page: 46
  • Weeds of the Midwestern United States & Central Canada, University of Georgia 2010, ISBN#0-8203-3506-1 See page: 43
  • Weeds of the North Central States, 1981 Univ. of Illinois, Urbana - Champaign Bulletin # 772, See page: 130
  • Weeds of the Northeast, 1956, Univ. of Delaware Field Manual #1 See species #: 288
  • Weeds of the Northeast, 1997 Cornell University ISBN# 0-8014-8334-4 See page: 98,364
  • Weeds of the Northern U.S, and Canada, 1999 Royer and Dickinson, (ISBN# 1-55105-221-0) See page: 104 - 105
  • Weeds of the United States and Their Control, Lorenzi 1987, ISBN# 0-442-25884-4 See page: 223
  • Listed as a `Weed` by the Biota of North America Program, 2008 X
  • Listed in the WSSA Composite List of Weeds X
Back to Plant List