Like an itch waiting to be scratched, conium maculatum – also known as poison hemlock or poison parsley – is irritating some Seward County residents.
Anyone traveling around Seward County is likely seeing its tall stalks and lovely spray of small white flowers right now. Its resemblance to the Queen Anne’s lace plant is often mentioned.
But admirers should not even think about picking any or even touching it. The plant can cause mild to serious irritation for people who touch it and can be more harmful to chickens and other livestock that might ingest its poison, according to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension Service website.
The Seward County Board of Commissioners started looking at whether this poisonous plant should be deemed a noxious weed here at its meeting June 25, but no official action was taken.
Seward County Weed Superintendent Marcus Kallhoff and Commission Chair Misty Ahmic are taking steps to have the Seward County Weed Advisory Board – comprised of county commissioners – review the pros and cons and schedule a public hearing on the topic.
“I have been getting a lot of complaints about this,” Ahmic said.
She has noticed more and more of the weed since the flooding of 2019. Other commissioners told her at the meeting they also had received inquiries about its seemingly growing place in weedy or wild spots along roads, rivers and creeks.
Ahmic and Kallhoff’s research shows it is not on the list of 12 noxious weeds now identified by the county. To be added to the list, the Weed Board would have to hear the input of residents, weigh the pros and cons of the plant and vote in favor of such a change.
Making the plant a noxious weed would allow the county to push out education about the plant and the problems it can cause. But neither Kallhoff nor Ahmic said they anticipate the county ordering property owners to take action. They are also seeking input from the county attorney’s office on next steps.
Kallhoff, who took on the weed superintendent role in mid-June in addition to his work at the county highway department, recently trained for and obtained his superintendent’s license and a weed-free forage license.
Kallhoff said educating residents about the plant will help them catch new plants early. Each of the small flowers can spread thousands of seeds, he said, and if it can be mown or the roots dug up early, the flowers would not be an issue.
“We’re not going to eliminate it,” Kallhoff said, but limiting its prominence in the landscape would help. “It’s hard to get rid of.”
Each plant has a two-year lifespan. The first year, the plant is shorter, leafy, and somewhat resembles a carrot plant. In its second year, poison hemlock shoots up as tall as 10 feet and blooms in June and July to spread its seeds for future years before dying, according to the UNL Extension’s online information.
The extension service website notes its similarity to Queen Anne’s lace, wild parsnips and water hemlock, but all parts of poison hemlock are toxic and debris can remain toxic for three years. The extension service notes three main identifying characteristics:
• Stems are hairless and hollow between nodes.
• Stems have reddish-purple streaks or splotches, but first-year plants’ coloring can be faint.
• Blooms feature many clusters of five-petalled white flowers, creating “showy flat-topped flower heads.”
Human or livestock digestion of plant parts or seeds can be dangerous, but just touching the plant’s sap can cause skin rashes. Its toxins can also be inhaled. People with a history of severe allergic reactions should be especially careful, the site said.
Anyone clearing an area of the plant should wear protective gloves and clothing, and clean equipment to keep sap away from skin.
Debris should be bagged and the bag tied before being placed in the trash. For information on how to address poison hemlock, go to https://extension.unl.edu/statewide/seward where readers can search for “poison hemlock.”
