Water dropwort
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| Water dropwort | |
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| File:Koeh-228.jpg | |
| Oenanthe aquatica | |
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Oenanthe
L., 1753
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O. aquatica – Fine-leafed water dropwort |
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The water dropworts, Oenanthe /ɔɪˈnænθiː/, are a genus of plants in the family Apiaceae. Most of the species grow in damp ground, in marshes or in water.
Several of the species are extremely poisonous, the active poison being oenanthotoxin. The most notable of these is O. crocata, which lives in damp, marshy ground, and resembles celery with roots like a bunch of large white carrots. The leaves may be eaten safely by livestock, but the stems, and especially the carbohydrate-rich roots are much more poisonous. Animals familiar with eating the leaves may eat the roots when these are exposed during ditch clearance – one root is sufficient to kill a cow, and human fatalities are also known. It has been referred to as the most poisonous of all British plants,[1] and is considered particularly dangerous because of its similarity to several edible plants.[2]
The species O. javanica, commonly known as Chinese celery or Japanese parsley (seri; not to be confused with mitsuba or Japanese wild celery, a plant from a different genus) is edible and grown in several countries of eastern Asia, as well as in Italy and India, where the spring growth is relished as a vegetable.
Names
"Oenanthe" is derived from the Greek oinos "wine" and anthos "flower", from the wine-like scent of the flowers.[3]
The name "water dropwort" comes from the close resemblance of some of the smaller species (which mainly grow in wet ground) to dropwort (Filipendula vulgaris) (Rosaceae), an unrelated plant of dry grassland.
Sardonic grin
Scientists at the University of Eastern Piedmont in Italy claimed to have identified hemlock water dropwort (Oenanthe crocata) as the plant responsible for producing the sardonic grin.[4][5] This plant is the most-likely candidate for the "sardonic herb," which was a neurotoxic plant used for the ritual killing of elderly people in Phoenician Sardinia. When these people were unable to support themselves, they were intoxicated with this herb and then dropped from a high rock or beaten to death. Criminals were also executed in this way.[6]
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Oenanthe pimpinelloides2.jpg
Corky-fruited water dropwort (Oenanthe pimpinelloides)
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Oenanthe crocata.JPG
Hemlock Water Dropwort (Oenanthe crocata) in spring
References
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- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ News Scan Briefs: Killer Smile, Scientific American, August 2009
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External links
Media related to Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. at Wikimedia Commons
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- article National Geographic: poisoning in history of Italy
