Conium | |
---|---|
Conium maculatum | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Apiales |
Family: | Apiaceae |
Subfamily: | Apioideae |
Genus: | Conium L. |
Species | |
Conium ( /koʊˈnaɪ.əm/ or /ˈkoʊniəm/ ) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Apiaceae. [1] As of December 2020 [update] , Plants of the World Online accepts six species. [2]
All species of the genus are poisonous to humans. C. maculatum, also known as hemlock, is infamous for being highly poisonous. Hemlock is native to temperate regions of Europe, North Africa and Western Asia. The species C. chaerophylloides, C. fontanum, and C. sphaerocarpum are all native to southern Africa.
Plants of the genus Conium are eudicots, flowering plants distinguished by their two cotyledons (embryonic leaves) and tricolpate (three-pored) pollen. They are typically biennial, forming basal rosettes in the first year of growth, and sprouting a rigid, hollow flower stalk in the second. Germination occurs between spring and autumn. Occasionally, plants which germinate in early spring are annual instead of biennial. [3] These plants grow best in wet, poorly drained areas with nutrient rich soil. They grow well in nitrogen rich soil, and are able to tolerate high levels of heavy metals, such as arsenic, cadmium, and lead. Conium plants are diploid, with a chromosome number of 2n = 22 (haploid number 11). They grow from one to three meters tall, varying between species. They produce hermaphroditic flowers, which are typically insect pollinated or self-fertilized. [4]
Conium plants are herbaceous, growing non-woody, hollow, and hairless stems. Generally, the stem is striated and light green; however, the coloring varies by species and variety. Some express purple blotching throughout, some have purple blotching localized near the base, and others have no markings at all.
The alternate leaves are pinnately compound and finely divided, with the exact pinnation patterns varying between species and leaf type. For example, stem leaves of C. maculatum plants are typically 2-4 pinnate, but basal leaves are 1-3 pinnate. The leaves and petioles are light green. Similar to the stem coloring, some species and varieties express purple blotching on the leaves and petioles. [5]
Terminal inflorescences are made up of many small flowers, colored white, yellow, or green depending on the species. The flowers are grouped together in umbrella shaped umbels. Plants in the genus Conium have compound umbels, with multiple dome shaped clusters branching out from a central point. Flowers are around 2 mm across, and the umbrella shaped umbels range from 1–8 cm in diameter. [3]
The two seeded fruit is one of the most significant distinguishing factors between species. They are relatively round, slightly flattened, and dark green or brown. Depending on the species, they range from 2.5 to 4 mm long. Some species have distinctive light brown ribs, some have ribs that are noticeably crenulate (scalloped edges), and others show relatively unpronounced rib patterns. [6]
Each plant typically produces between 1,700 and 39,000 seeds, and 40-85% will germinate in suitable conditions. However, seeds will remain viable for 3 to 6 years after dispersal. Producing a large number of seeds, and growing in a variety of locations, these plants can be considered invasive in some cases. [3]
Poisonous alkaloid compounds are present in all tissues of Conium plants. As a flower develops into a fruit and matures, the alkaloids present transform from γ-coniceine, to coniine, and finally to N-methylconiine. [4] When ingested, these compounds interrupt the central nervous system, paralyzing respiratory muscles, and finally resulting in death through respiratory failure. [7]
Members of the genus Conium can be easily confused with edible plants of the family Apiaceae. [8] Conium plants have leaves similar to parsley (Petroselinum crispum) and roots similar to parsnip (Pastinaca sativa). However, a few characteristics can be used to distinguish the poisonous Conium plants from other harmless Apiaceae plants. [4] For example, Conium leaves and stems release a foul odor when crushed. Additionally, the species C. maculatum stands out with its purple blotching pattern. [9]
The genus name "Conium" references the Greek word koneios for 'spin' or 'whirl', alluding to the dizzying effects of the plant's poison after ingestion. [6] In the vernacular, "hemlock" most commonly refers to the species C. maculatum, but it also refers to Cicuta species (water hemlock), where both species are similar in physical features, and both are highly toxic.
The genus Conium was erected by Carl Linnaeus in 1753. [2] Several botanists, such as J.F.M. Cannon, G.H. Leute, and J.H. Ross, have historically made the argument that southern African species of Conium has few significant distinctions. Some even claim that the genus has no independent species at all. They argue that the populations in southern Africa "may be the result of the chance introduction of a few individuals which represented genetically a very limited range of the total variability of the species." Some believe that each species of Conium is synonymous to C. maculatum. Others believe that there are two to three distinct southern African species of Conium. [10]
Conium was known to ancient Greeks, who used it for its narcotic properties and in capital punishment. It was used for the execution, among others, of Socrates and Theramenes.[ citation needed ]
Conium maculatum, also known as poison hemlock, was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1753 publication, Species Plantarum. It was the first described species within the genus. "Maculatum" means spotted, referencing the purple blotches characteristic of this species. [3]
Conium chaerophylloides was described by Danish plant collector Christian Friedrich Ecklon (1795–1868) and German botanist Karl Ludwig Philipp Zeyher. In 1828, they came together in South Africa, forming a partnership. For the next decade, they built their collection, describing almost 2000 genera and species. [11]
Both C. fontanum and C. sphaerocarpum were described by South African botanist Olive Mary Hilliard and English botanist Brian Laurence Burtt. Together, they published their classifications in the South African Journal of Botany in 1985. [12]
As of December 2020 [update] , Plants of the World Online accepts six species: [2]
Conium chaerophylloides, growing two to three meters tall, can be distinguished by its unique yellow-green flowers. Groups of many of these small flowers make up obconical umbels. The outer rays (individual flowers) form an angle with the point of attachment, giving the umbel a cone-like shape, which fans out from the base of the inflorescence. They produce round, 4 mm long, dark brown or green fruit, with deep, lightly colored ridges. [6]
Conium fontanum expresses a similar obconical umbel arrangement, but produces slightly larger fruit, and develops the white flowers characteristic of the other species in the Conium genus. The fruit is usually larger than 4 mm long, with ridges of the same dark green or brown color as the rest of the ovary. [6] These plants grow one to three meters tall, depending on the variety. [5]
Conium hilliburttorum has not always been recognized as a distinct species within the genus. Like C. sphaerocarpum, these plants have white flowers grouped in hemispherical umbels and small fruit. However, these researchers argue that the fruit and ovary anatomy significantly distinguish them from C. sphaerocarpum. They develop similar sized fruit; however, C. hilliburttorum fruit displays prominent ribs, whereas C. sphaerocarpum fruit is relatively smooth. C. hilliburttorum ovaries are covered in tubercules, or small lumpy outgrowths, like C. chaerophylloides fruit. However, C. chaerophylloides plants have yellow or green flowers, and they grow much larger fruit and are much taller. [6]
Conium maculatum is distinguished by red or purple blotching along the hairless green stem. Some varieties of the southern African species express a moderate degree of blotching at the base of the stem, but most are simply green. It grows white flowers in umbrella-shaped clusters. [3]
Conium sphaerocarpum produces similarly colored, but slightly smaller fruit, less than 3.5 mm long. The ovary is relatively smooth, with almost completely flat, inconspicuous ridges. Additionally, the small white flowers are arranged in hemispherical umbels. Each umbel's outer rays protrude horizontally, forming a semi-sphere shape, with the flat edge at the base of the umbel, and the dome pointing away from the point of attachment. This species tends to grow shorter than others within the genus. [6]
Conium is a genus within the family Apiaceae. The family Apiaceae originates from Australasia in the Late Cretaceous period. Conium is specifically part of the Apioideae subfamily which split off from the other subfamilies of Apiaceae between 45.9 and 71.2 million years ago in southern Africa. [13]
The evolution of toxicity within Conium plants and within Apiaceae plants has several theories. Apiaceae plants contain secondary compounds which are compounds that are often limited to just a family, genus, or a species of plant that varies among those smaller groups and is unlikely to be essential to the day-to-day physiological needs of the plant. These secondary compounds are used to mediate the plants interactions with other organisms, such as the prevention of herbivory. [14] Gottfried S. Fraenkel in 1959 called the distribution of secondary compounds within Apiaceae and other families reciprocal adaptive evolution. [15] Ehrlich and Raven in 1964 called Fraenkel's process coevolution. They claimed that secondary compounds diversify by emerging as a novel compound that protects a plant from herbivory. Due to this protection from herbivory and mutation or recombination in an insect, the plant can become susceptible to herbivory once more if an insect evolves the means to detoxify or tolerate the toxin created by the secondary compound. With this new trait, the insect has a new adaptive zone with which it can diversify and the plant has a certain set of adapted herbivores. [14] This is seen with Conium, where C. maculatum has an adaptive herbivore, Agonopterix alstromeriana . [3]
Conium maculatum is native to northern Europe, western Asia, and North Africa. [3] C. chaerophylloides, C. fontanum, and C. sphaerocarpum are all native to southern Africa. [16] [17] [18]
Conium maculatum has been introduced to the Americas, southern Africa, China, New Zealand, and Australia. [3] It was originally brought to the United States from Europe as a garden plant. [19] C. maculatum has been introduced to other parts of the world due to the transportation of grain. [19] In many areas which C. maculatum has been introduced, it has become an invasive species. [3]
All species of Conium are poisonous to humans and several other species of mammals; yet, some serve as food sources for some insects. In addition, the invasiveness of Conium species into non-native habitats is documented. It is unknown what the spread of Conium into new environments is primarily driven by. [3]
Seeds of the Conium plants fall close to the parent and primarily rely on abiotic and biotic vector transmissions for dispersal. For biotic transmissions, rodents and birds have been documented to spread seeds, with them clinging to the animals' fur. Human introductions of the plants from their native into new habitats (either accidentally through seed contamination or intentional as a garden plant or medicinal herb) is also a proposed cause of the plant being invasive in several regions, but these are not common. [3]
As a weed, Conium plants can spread into grasslands and other areas with low vegetation and crowd out local grass species. [20] The plants spread very quickly and are very competitive with native grasses. [21]
Conium plants use their toxicity as a way to mediate their ecological interactions with other species. [14] Despite the Conium plants being poisonous, several invertebrates and some insects have evolved mechanisms for avoiding toxicity of chemicals when feeding on the plants. [22] One species of moth, Agonopterix alstroemeriana , infests C. maculatum. [3]
The plants serve as a host for several viruses, bacteria, and insects, including the carrot rust fly, Psila rosae; the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa; carrot thin leaf virus; celery mosaic virus; and alfalfa mosaic virus. [3] In 2015, a novel Poison Hemlock Virus Y (PHVY) was isolated from leaf samples of C. maculatum with mild mosaic and vein yellowing symptoms, collected from fields in south-east Iran. The virus was shown serologically to be related to potyviruses. [23]
Conium plants are poisonous to a variety of animals including cows, sheep, goats, swine, rabbits, elk, poultry, and humans. Some of the impacts of the consumption of these plants on animals include muscle spasms, diarrhea, depression, skeletal malformations, and death. In fact, the most important losses from Conium plants is through livestock toxicity. An estimated yearly loss of livestock to these plants in the western US was $340 million. [24] [25]
Although they are mostly found in non-crop fields, Conium plants compete with commercial agricultural plants, including several types of vegetables and grains. It has been found growing in corn, chickpea, vegetable, and orchard fields. Regions affected include Oceania, the Iberian peninsula, central Europe, and the United States. Economic losses of crops due to Conium invasion is not as widespread or severe as its affecting of animals farms, and there is little crop loss data available from those regions. [3]
Historically, the leaves and flowers of Conium plant species were prized for their decorative appearance, and they were bred and kept as ornamental decorative plants. Conium plants were also used as natural barriers and in medicine as treatments. As knowledge that chemicals produced by Conium plants were toxic to humans and mammals became widespread, their usage as decorative plants and as treatments have declined.
Today, species of the Conium genus have no known uses, and they are classified as a weed. However, notably, C. maculatum continues to be used in medicine as an ingredient. In addition, the production of toxic chemicals that have limited their widespread public use has instigated research in the chemicals' potential applications in agriculture.
Chemicals produced by and isolated from plants of this genus were found to have anti-insect and anti-predator properties and have been studied for use in agriculture. Coniine was proven to be effective against aphids and blowflies. [26] In addition, extracts of Conium plants were found to inhibit Fusarium pallidoroseum, a fungal disease causing twig blight in mulberry. [27] However, these findings have not yet been implemented in practice. [3]
Extracts of Conium plants were used as sedatives and antispasmodics. Because of the plants' toxicities, uses as a medicine were discontinued by the early 20th century. [3]
Today, there are no accepted uses for the Conium genus plants as a treatment. Despite severe safety concerns and a lack of supporting scientific evidence, C. maculatum has continued to be used as homeopathy or home remedy treatment for several medical conditions including anxiety, muscle spasms, bronchitis, whooping cough, asthma, and arthritis. [3] [28] [29] There is little information on the plant's interactions with other drugs and on treatment doses. [7]
Conium maculatum was introduced into North America as an ornamental plant, imported into the United States and southern Canada. [7] Plant hobbyists continue to cultivate this plant species today.
As plants of the Conium species are known to be dangerous to mammals, they are also used as natural fences between tracts of land to block predatory animals such as wolves. It is grown along streams or rivers and near fences and pastures. [7]
All species of Conium are highly toxic to humans, many other mammals, and birds (in larger doses). Virtually all parts of the plant are poisonous to humans, and consumption of any part of the plant can cause poisoning. [10] [30] In most cases, poisoning occurs from a misidentification of the plant as an edible species, such as C. maculatum root with wild parsnips or its leaves with parsley. [30]
Conium maculatum is especially known to be dangerous to pregnant and breast-feeding females and in children, where poisoning has occurred by consuming small amounts of C. maculatum. [7] An overdose of Conium maculatum can typically produce paralysis, with a toxic dose causing loss of speech followed by inhibited respiratory function and, later, death. This plant species and others in the Conium genus are also toxic in larger mammals, including bovine, equestrian, and other domestic animals. [31] They are also known to cause birth defects in domesticated animals. [32] Birds do not appear to be affected as severely when consuming these seeds of these plants, but they can also be poisoned in larger doses. [32]
In hemlock, eight piperidine alkaloids, known to cause strong physiological effects, were isolated. Two of the eight compounds, g-coniceine and coniine, were measured as having the highest concentration, and they contribute to the plant's toxicity. Other alkaloids that have been identified in hemlock include methyl coniine, ethyl piperidine and pseudoconhydrine. [31]
In larger animals, acute toxicity doses for C. maculatum are lower for pigs compared to cattle, and for sheep compared to goats. [33] Specifically, toxicity doses are 3.3 mg/kg for cattle, 15.5 mg/kg for horses and 44.0 mg/kg for sheep.[ citation needed ]
Gastric lavage is performed on larger animals who have consumed Conium plants. For animals who have started to show symptoms, support respiration and treatment with activated charcoal and a saline cathartic are used. Support respiration and activated charcoal treatment is also given to human patients who have ingested Conium plants. [30]
The Greek philosopher Socrates famously died by goading a jury into sentencing him to death by hemlock (see Plato's Apology. [34] ) Conium maculatum (poison hemlock) is infamous in its use as a poison. [35] [36] A small overdose of extract of the plant causes paralysis with higher toxic doses causing a ceasing of respiratory function followed by death. [31] Poison hemlock was historically used in official executions and assassinations. [37]
Historically, Conium species has been grown as ornamental plants. As it has attractive flowers to some plant breeders, it was introduced to the US from Europe as a garden plant. [30] However, there have been documented cases where there was an improper cultivation of plants, where the species, notably C. maculatum, is mistaken with common edible plants such as parsnip, parsley, wild celery, and anise and is farmed for human consumption accidentally. [7]
Today, intentional introduction of Conium plants as a garden plant or live specimen for herbal medicine into new and existing regions is less likely. [3]
1 Species names have Conium abbreviated as C. followed by the species taxonomy.
Apiaceae or Umbelliferae is a family of mostly aromatic flowering plants named after the type genus Apium and commonly known as the celery, carrot or parsley family, or simply as umbellifers. It is the 16th-largest family of flowering plants, with more than 3,800 species in about 446 genera, including such well-known and economically important plants as ajwain, angelica, anise, asafoetida, caraway, carrot, celery, chervil, coriander, cumin, dill, fennel, lovage, cow parsley, parsley, parsnip and sea holly, as well as silphium, a plant whose exact identity is unclear and which may be extinct.
Daucus carota, whose common names include wild carrot, European wild carrot, bird's nest, bishop's lace, and Queen Anne's lace, is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae. It is native to temperate regions of the Old World and was naturalized in the New World.
Oenanthe, known as water dropworts, oenanthes, water parsleys, and water celeries, are a genus of plants in the family Apiaceae. Most of the species grow in damp ground, such as in marshes or in water.
Coniine is a poisonous chemical compound, an alkaloid present in and isolable from poison hemlock (Conium maculatum), where its presence has been a source of significant economic, medical, and historico-cultural interest; coniine is also produced by the yellow pitcher plant (Sarracenia flava), and fool's parsley (Aethusa cynapium). Its ingestion and extended exposure are toxic to humans and all classes of livestock; its mechanism of poisoning involves disruption of the central nervous system, with death caused by respiratory paralysis. The biosynthesis of coniine contains as its penultimate step the non-enzymatic cyclisation of 5-oxooctylamine to γ-coniceine, a Schiff base differing from coniine only by its carbon-nitrogen double bond in the ring. This pathway results in natural coniine that is a mixture—a racemate—composed of two enantiomers, the stereoisomers (S)-(+)-coniine and (R)-(−)-coniine, depending on the direction taken by the chain that branches from the ring. Both enantiomers are toxic, with the (R)-enantiomer being the more biologically active and toxic of the two in general. Coniine holds a place in organic chemistry history as being the first of the important class of alkaloids to be synthesized, by Albert Ladenburg in 1886, and it has been synthesized in the laboratory in a number of unique ways through to modern times.
Cicuta virosa, the cowbane or northern water hemlock, is a poisonous species of Cicuta, native to northern and central Europe, northern Asia and northwestern North America.
Aethusa cynapium is an annual herb in the flowering plant family Apiaceae, native to Europe, western Asia, and northwest Africa. It is the only member of the genus Aethusa. It is related to hemlock and water-dropwort, and like them it is poisonous, though less so than hemlock. It has been introduced into many other parts of the world and is a common weed in cultivated ground.
Cicutoxin is a naturally-occurring poisonous chemical compound produced by several plants from the family Apiaceae including water hemlock (Cicuta species) and water dropwort (Oenanthe crocata). The compound contains polyene, polyyne, and alcohol functional groups and is a structural isomer of oenanthotoxin, also found in water dropwort. Both of these belong to the C17-polyacetylenes chemical class.
Cicuta, commonly known as water hemlock, is a genus of four species of highly poisonous plants in the family Apiaceae. They are perennial herbaceous plants which grow up to 2.5 meters (8 ft) tall, having distinctive small green or white flowers arranged in an umbrella shape (umbel). Plants in this genus may also be referred to as cowbane or poison parsnip. Cicuta is native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, mainly North America and Europe, typically growing in wet meadows, along streambanks and other wet and marshy areas. These plants bear a close resemblance to other members in the family Apiaceae and may be confused with a number of edible or poisonous plants. The common name hemlock may also be confused with poison hemlock, or with the Hemlock tree.
Cicuta maculata is a highly poisonous species of flowering plant in the carrot family known by several common names, including spotted water hemlock, spotted parsley, spotted cowbane, and the suicide root by the Iroquois. It is native to nearly all of North America, from northern Canada to southern Mexico.
Ligusticum porteri, also known as oshá, wild parsnip, Porter’s Lovage or wild celery, is a perennial herb found in parts of the Rocky Mountains and northern New Mexico, especially in the southwestern United States.
Berula is a cosmopolitan genus of flowering plants in the family Apiaceae, whose species are known as water parsnips, as are some other plants in Apiaceae such as Sium latifolium and Sium suave. It is easily confused with the highly toxic water hemlock.
Sium suave, the water parsnip or hemlock waterparsnip, is a perennial wildflower in the family Apiaceae. It is native to many areas of both Asia and North America. The common name water parsnip is due to its similarity to parsnip and its wetland habitat. The alternate common name hemlock waterparsnip is due to its similarity to the highly poisonous spotted water hemlock.
Coturnism is an illness featuring muscle tenderness and rhabdomyolysis after consuming quail that have fed on poisonous plants.
The hemlock moth, also known as the defoliating hemlock moth or poison hemlock moth, is a nocturnal moth species of the family Depressariidae. Of Palaearctic origin, it was first found in North America in 1973 when it was accidentally introduced. The moth is now widespread throughout the northern half of the United States, southern Canada, northern Europe, and, more recently, New Zealand and Australia. The larval form grows to around 10 mm, while the adults wingspan is between 17 mm and 19 mm.
Apium virus Y (ApVY) is a plant pathogenic virus in the genus Potyvirus and the virus family Potyviridae.
Conium maculatum, colloquially known as hemlock, poison hemlock or wild hemlock, is a highly poisonous flowering plant in the carrot family Apiaceae, native to Europe and North Africa. It is herbaceous without woody parts and has a biennial lifecycle. A hardy plant capable of living in a variety of environments, hemlock is widely naturalised in locations outside its native range, such as parts of Australia, West Asia, and North and South America, to which it has been introduced. It is capable of spreading and thereby becoming an invasive weed.
Cicuta bulbifera, commonly known as the bulb-bearing water-hemlock, is a plant native to North America and one of four species in the poisonous genus Cicuta. Tiny bulbils form in the leaf joints in the upper part of the plant, giving the plant its scientific and common names. Cicuta bulbifera can be distinguished from Cicuta douglasii by its narrow leaflet segments and its bulbil-bearing upper leaf axils.
Oenanthe crocata, hemlock water-dropwort is a flowering plant in the carrot family, native to Europe, North Africa and western Asia. It grows in damp grassland and wet woodland, often along river and stream banks. All parts of the plant are extremely toxic and it has been known to cause human and livestock poisoning.