The Deadliest Plant In North America

This is the silent assassin, water hemlock.
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SOCIAL MEDIA
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CREDITS
Created by: Dylan Dubeau
Executive Producer, Director, and Director of Photography: Dylan Dubeau
Host: Tasha The Amazon
Editors: Collin Sideris and Jim Pitts
Researcher, Producer, Camera Operator: Andres Salazar
Writer: Lauren Greenwood
Camera Operator: Colin Cooper
Music Courtesy of Audio Network
Dazzle
Mystery Solved
Devils Brew
Sad Cowboys
House On The Hill
Fireflies
Original Sin
Stock media provided by Pond5, Envato, Alamy, and Getty Images.
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Exploring the World of Plants and Fungi.

[@kelliebell1284]

Fun fact: Citrus juice can also cause photodermatitis. I discovered this when I squeezed limes to make punch and spent the day outside, and ended up with huge blisters on both hands that left wicked scars.

[@FinneasJedidiah]

I've heard that limes are worse than other citrus fruits too

[@cbennett6060]

Its the oils in the skin of citrus, which is why you have to be careful outside after a lemon pack

[@Primalxbeast]

I seem to recall using lemon juice in my hair and laying out in the sun to bleach my hair when I was a teen without any problems.

[@hera7884]

It’s only Lime. Lemon and Orange don’t do that

[@ingegaugerlarranaga4210]

@@cbennett6060 sorry to bother but, what does "a lemon pack" mean? never heard of it before

[@charlesstone369]

This episode is straight up PSA. Thank you!

[@Tfin]

"Today is garbage day on my street, and as you can hear, the garbage man is doing his job loudly and slowly, causing cardiac arrest or respiratory flailure."

[@DanGamingFan2846]

Even the most unassuming plants on earth can be the most dangerous. Why on earth would people make whistles from these things?

[@censorsstarve]

Because they thought it was a nontoxic varient? This whole video was about how it looks like other non dangerous ones.

[@_ninthRing_]

The stems are naturally hollow, so if you've got a pocketknife making a whistle would be a breeze. Except for the poisoning, convulsions & horrible death, I mean...

[@adriansennett2861]

Damn man I've been using this in cooking for ages what's up with these lightweights. Next you'll be trying to tell me cyanide's dangerous. Do I look stupid to you? Retorical!

[@Peetreesaur]

Do you mean”why would children make whistles out of them?” Children do dumb stuff and they probably were uneducated about such plants.

[@bradleymahurin5582]

Don't make your kids, whistles from random shit outside. Don't do it.

[@swankshire6939]

My grandpa owned a lake that was literally surrounded by water hemlock. Nobody even knew what it was and this video explained what happened to my dad a few times lol. He touched them all the time, you'd have thought he'd figure it out.

[@lashadi1445]

That's rough!!

[@MrNightpwner]

No, I would have thought how is he not dead?

[@arboristboozerify]

In this situation the body can get used to it. Small doses over time.

[@_ninthRing_]

*The Handbook of Poisonous and Injurious Plants,* (2020) by *Lewis S. Nelson* & *Michael J. Balick* is an excellent resource for identifying poisonous plants, detailing the mechanisms of their toxins & expounding on the clinical procedures for treating both poisoned humans & animals.

[@possum9010]

Thanks for this info. I'm a forager and my thinking is knowing what will hurt you is more important than knowing what won't.

[@sophroniel]

thank you for this excellent recommendation. I don't know how I'll find it in New Zealand (RIP book depository) but I shall try

[@phoenixfirestar31]

I grew up around this beast of a plant, it's completely taken over areas of the south Platte riverbanks. A telltale sign that it's water hemlock is the purple blotches on the stem. We saw it in the same areas we saw wild asparagus.

[@evilsharkey8954]

That’s poison hemlock. Water hemlock is less leafy and lacks the distinctive purple spots.

[@22espec]

And nobody wants to get rid of it?

[@charliekezza]

Don't eat anything you don't know exactly what it is

[@ryllharu]

Agreed. if you can't be absolutely sure, don't even think about eating foraged plants.

[@evilsharkey8954]

@@ryllharuThey’re even more dangerous than foraged mushrooms because the mushrooms usually take a few days to a week to kill you, and there are some promising treatments. Water hemlock can kill you in 20 minutes.

[@rachel4483]

Yeah, Mom always taught us we don't eat wild carroty plants as little kids. Any of the wild carrots. And herbicides can work if you know what you're doing but they seeds so much it's a constant battle for a long time.

[@Rebazar]

Water hemlock is everywhere and looks like a bunch of harmless plants you might want to touch or gather. Its very existence fills me with anxiety

[@evilsharkey8954]

It’s not as common as its harmless or less harmful relatives, like Queen Anne’s lace. That stuff is frikkin’ everywhere!

[@msruag]

whoever writes the script needs a raise 😭WHO CAME UP WITH CALLING A PLANT A BADDIE IM CRYING

[@meganfitzmaurice5757]

Please do an episode on Bitter Sweet Nightshade. It is EVERYWHERE around RI and Eastern MA. Toxic and highly invasive, the birds don't help either. Also interesting how a tomato is a nightshade species right?

[@HayTatsuko]

Tomatoes, tomatillos, potatoes, all sweet/bell/capsicum and hot chili peppers, and eggplants, among others commonly eaten as food!

[@dawnklug6986]

@@HayTatsuko Many people do get sick from their toxins........while others don't. Whenever I have eaten tomatoes I have week's long joint pains.

[@robotdeer]

I appreciate that almost half this episode's length is Tasha The Amazon being like "words are hard" which is super relatable.

[@aaronrodriguez9376]

Please do spider plants. I need to know what makes them so resilient as mine have fallen multiple times and gone 2 weeks without water and they just bounce right back in a week like nothing ever happened.

[@corvid...]

I absolutely LOVE the floralogic videos, and Tasha... Great content, especially the last couple minutes of bloopers 😅😅

[@Noukz37]

I love that they getting longer and longer as well 😀

[@Beryllahawk]

YIIIIIIIIKES! I knew about Hemlock being poison, but to know that this is such a common plant and just as bad if not WORSE??? Scary! I'd love to see a quick roundup of good North American foraging plants! Or maybe something with just a touch of archaeology to it, how the Native American cultures used wild plants for their food. It wasn't all squash, corn, and beans, and I've always been fascinated by the "green" side to the foods of the Plains tribes in particular!

[@summerjams3650]

rlly enjoying the blooper cut! Tasha YOU FUNNY AND DELIGHTFUL!

[@nathanwilliams4364]

OMG I love the outtakes and Tasha is such a good host.

[@quokka_11]

Hemlock just sounds like something that would keep your pant legs from unraveling, but NoOooOOO...

[@michaelbutler1619]

Not exactly a plant, but maybe you could do an episode on ergot fungus? You could make it all trippy since it's the original source of LSD.

[@pierreabbat6157]

The hollow dried stem, which was made into a whistle, is called a kex.

[@summerjams3650]

"don't let your kids make whistles from random shit outside" 😂😂😂

[@TheBlackDeck]

Holy crap that stuff grows ALL over around here. Like everywhere... I had no idea it was so dangerous.

[@francesbernard2445]

Thanks for the information. What does water Hemlock look like before it starts flowering? In my Canadian neighborhood the worst unwanted plant around is only Burdock weed. Canadian Hemlock is not poisonous. Since climate change is allowing more plants to grow here than before I better find out what water Hemlock looks like when first sprouting out of the ground. A Burdock weed keeps on growing and growing in diameter while sending out runners elsewhere. The seed bearing pods are so prickly they adhere to all clothing after only one moment of contact. if you get one in your hair it has to be most of the time cut off that lock of hair. I doubt that Burdock leaves are tasty to eat.

[@quickstixproductions9880]

A young water hemlock plant can look a lot like parsley, carrot leaves or celery. It really only grows around rivers and other water sources. It's cousin Hemlock looks similar though its a little easier to identify usually having purple blotches and having a very unpleasant musky smell when you expose the flesh.

[@Mattquaza]

Burdock roots are very widely used for food though

[@wxlurker]

I’m not sure if the wild burlock in your area is safe to be eaten but if so, I definitely recommend cooking the burdock root. It’s a common ingredient in many Asian teas and dishes. My personal favourite way is Kinpira Gobo, which is braised burlock root simmered in a sweet soy sauce with carrots.

[@theredwhirlwin]

I could watch those outtakes all day, I'll remember not to touch any plant ever, they're trying to kill me.

[@tonydeluna8095]

Beautiful plants of the earth, but very deadly, very dangerous

[@Nmethyltransferase]

Poison Ivy (the Batman villain): _[punning intensifies]_

[@robcouncil1592]

Great job and presentation, Tasha! Keep up the great work! 😎👋🏿👏🏿🙌🏿👍🏿

[@TurtleNerite]

Believe or not, the northern water hemlock (Cicuta virosa) is actually a protected plant species in Hungary, where I live. It became rare due to the destruction of wet habitats.

[@OdariArt]

We have Water Hemlock in Michigan. I live by the Detroit River and you see them around but not bad. I'm a plant lover and I love Tasha as the host with the most. Always fun!

[@meganfitzmaurice5757]

So cool! I LOVE that you have this show Tasha! Plants are so fascinating, more than animals I'd say - probably because they are more evolved...maybe.. a suggestion/request for an episode! Why do broccoli and cauliflower look so similar but one tastes like a manilla envelope and the other has its own flavor. I've always wondered! (Can you tell which one of them i don't enjoy?)

[@dawnklug6986]

They are both hybrids developed in laboratories by scientists. It's the chlorophyl that makes Broccoli tasty and the Cauliflower is 'bagged' to prevent it getting sunlight.....hence the lack of chlorophyl. White Celery is also 'bagged' to give it that 'whiteness'.

[@jorgerostro1666]

Thanks for the episode! You should do brugmansia next! 😊

[@agerven]

Tasha, could you do a video plant-related to the bloopers of this one? It may go viral! But seriously, i always appreciate your videos, since they are packed with information and very good narrated. Thank you!

[@jonathanhall1825]

If you have water running though your land do a spot check to make sure there is not water hemlock

[@FeetHipWidth]

This was such an informative video! I would absolutely have mistaken this for Queen Anne's Lace.

[@leondojason1247]

🤣 them bloopers HILARIOUSSSS!!!!!!

[@DtWolfwood]

Would of been nice for yall to go over the traits that sets it apart from its edible cousins

[@evilsharkey8954]

And to have the correct pictures! The one at 2:57 is Queen Anne’s lace. You can tell by the tightly packed florets and the one dark floret in the center. QAL also has hairy stems. None of the deadly hemlocks are hairy. I think the roots are the only part people eat. I’ve never actually seen water hemlock in person, but poison hemlock has purple blotches on the stem. Basically, don’t eat carrot family wild plants unless you know how to ID them and their toxic relatives, same rule as when foraging mushrooms.

[@ADhype421]

Very informative. Glad to have watched the video.

[@ManiacMoomin]

Can you do an episode on cattails? Always thought they looked like cigars when I was little.

[@infowarriorone]

Great information. Banger episode. Love the outtakes at the end.

[@Nefville]

I keep getting into _something_ that is causing photodermititis. I recognize those marks, whatever it is I keep running into it when picking raspberries in my garden. Its super dense, I've looked for all the poison ivys, oaks and sumacs, hogweed doesn't grow here in Kentucky... I can't figure it out! Won't matter soon, fall is coming asap but I know those marks!

[@evilsharkey8954]

Look up wild parsnip. It’s notorious for causing phytophotodermatitis, and very few people know about it. It’s another carrot relative, but the leaves are less delicate, and the flowers are yellow, which is their distinguishing feature.

[@agerven]

I'm resistant to poison ivy, which is a very common plant around here. Many other people appear to be allergic to this fact though.

[@Nefville]

@@evilsharkey8954 Thank you, I will. I'm sure it will be back next spring. I'm just glad to know that's the type of reaction that was being caused and it did leave scars. After 3 or 4 run ins I never went in that garden with any skin showing that could potentially touch whatever it was.

[@kjj26k]

My favorite part is how the bad plant looks exactly like a bunch of good plants.

[@kathyinwonderlandl.a.8934]

That’s the hard part 🎃

[@Neotenico]

Tasha's Rodney Dangerfield impression is scary good.

[@michaelmayhem350]

You should send Tasha to England so you can do a video on the Alnwick Garden

[@beezusHrist]

They may have already done that

[@Kephinio]

Oh, the outtakes. 😄 Thank you so much for this content!

[@metaforcesaber]

I had a bunch of poison hemlock in my yard of the new house I bought. I didn't know what it was and I ran over it with the lawn mower and weed wacker and my ankles were covered in the plant material and I remember it smelled really unique. My friend came over or started laughing hysterically and told me what it was. So I bought a spade shovel thing and remove them all.

[@samhaines8228]

great stuff, keep 'em coming!

[@AlainSTO]

Sometimes I wonder how I ever survived childhood when I see videos like this

[@letolethe3344]

Love the bloopers.

[@HayTatsuko]

I was taught early to stay away from this hideously dangerous plant, which grows all over my home state of Alabama. I'd like to see a video on pokeweed _(Phytolacca americana),_ which is also pretty common -- and fairly poisonous, though the very young leaves can be prepared as "poke salad" or "poke sallet" and eaten somewhat safely after boiling twice with a change of water between boils. I'd have to be pretty desperate to even try it.

[@dawnklug6986]

My son and I used to make home made ant poison using the juice of the Poke Berry. It worked on all types by pouring the concentrated juice on/around the mounds. Yes we wore latex gloves.

[@buriedtoodeep1508]

Fascinating. So there are bees all over those flowers and I'm guessing that any honey might be affected by the toxin too?

[@randomnickify]

I agree its fascinating. I've actually goo.led that question, quoting: "As Andy Crews said, generally, poisonous plants have poison in parts of the plant they don’t want eaten, like roots, stems and leaves. Parts of the plant meant to be eaten, like nectar (lures bees to the plant to pollinate it) or fruit (lures animals to the plant to spread seeds), usually aren’t poisonous."

[@YuBeace]

Unrelated to the plants but this person has a great sense of fashion, so cool 🤩

[@mcsmith732]

2:56 shows Queen Anne's Lace. Note purple "flower" in the middle of the blossom.

[@evilsharkey8954]

I noticed that, too. They really should be more careful with the details when they’re discussing deadly toxic plants with edible lookalikes. They should maybe contact an expert on each deadly plant to preview it and point out any errors before they release it since just searching photos online can get a lot of mis-labeled pictures.

[@lashadi1445]

Yes! Your bloopers are funnni 🥰😄😆

[@KerryHallPhD]

I love that 1/4 of the video is the goofy outtakes XD

[@poopikins]

lol informative and funny bloopers!

[@91hrs]

Love the bloopers at the end lmaoo

[@RealElequist]

Those bloopers were the best

[@ramonsita625]

I was legitimately scared for my life..................and then I saw the bloopers 🤣 great video, as always, Tasha is amazing and hilarious!

[@LuckyMaxBrick]

Wow! Really great video! You should make a video about Japanese Knotweed next!

[@MyLibgirl]

Great video! That plants like my ex wife! Makes you itchy and ruins your life ❤

[@loksven83]

R/murderedbywords

[@Based_Gigachad_001]

I haven't seen a my "ex joke" in awhile.

[@syamamunnitham9497]

Great job

[@Kalisis07]

Random: I've seen these trees around Georgia a few times but have yall done an episode on mimosa trees?

[@texascajun4023]

Love your videos! I wish YOU did more!!!!🎉🎉🎉

[@prettypic444]

Anyone else remember that "Dear America" book where the main character accidently kills a toddler because she thought water hemlock was wild carrots and put it in a stew?

[@loksven83]

One of my favorite plants, extremely poisonous plants!

[@uteliasmajava5210]

Love this

[@isaactuuri6488]

crazy, we picked these often when i was a kid in CA, didnt know they were bad, and we never had adverse effects

[@evilsharkey8954]

You might have been picking Queen Anne’s lace, which is much more common and weedier. The picture at 2:57 is Queen Anne’s lace. It has a distinctive dark floret in the center of the umbel.

[@isaactuuri6488]

@@evilsharkey8954 you might be right, 30 years in memory

[@stupidmango4036]

These used to(maybe still) FLOOD the rim of the road in front of where I lived in the summer of 2012. I picked them all the time

[@skeeterskoville9226]

I grew up in east Texas and western Louisiana. We were taught at an early age what plants could mess us up in the woods and swamps! Not to mention the damn swamp dragons. Always gotta look out for those.

[@theoldgamer2612]

I can watch the bloopers all day 🤣🤣🤣

[@TheOzarkExplorer]

I just recently realized we have Poison Hemlock growing in our lot, and a lot of it. I've been chopping down the largest plants for a couple days now. A lot of them are about 7ft high, and others are still sprouting up. I figure it's going to take a few years to really make a dent in it. But I'm glad I finally took to the time to ID it.

[@mojrimibnharb4584]

Ex gf and myself found this growing in a friend's yard. We transplanted one to a pot and got him to burn out the rest. I think she still has it.

[@sophroniel]

Wow it looks worrying like elderberry blooms!!! Saving this video for reference, thank you for making this!@

[@ashlieryder8211]

Funny that I found this video less than 24 hours after my grandpa successfully removed a plant that resembled hemlock from the backyard.

[@kathyinwonderlandl.a.8934]

Funny how it goes like that…

[@summerjams3650]

that video of the human wearing aviators with twists and holding a flamethrowing is so beautiful and badass! also this video in general is badass. Thanks Tasha the Amazon and Animalogic!

[@TashatheAmazon]

pssst. the person with the flamethrower is me 😏 it's from my Watch it Burn Video 😎🔥

[@DeRien8]

Lol, I was looking to see if anyone else caught this. Looking snazzy and formidable!

[@loganphetteplace6532]

Talk about rosary pea or the castor oil plant next!

[@leo16seanow7]

🎶don't do it🎶🤣

[@mutanix]

I come for the science, I stay for the outtakes.

[@illusion-xiii]

I was looking down when you said "Common Yarrow", and for a moment I thought, "How on earth are habañeros related to parsnips?!"

[@6852660]

Please talk about phantom orchids!

[@heatherjones1453]

Do Haworthia! I love the one from Africa whose 'leaves' are more like windows.

[@BadDrag12]

Could you possibly do a video on fly agaric mushrooms?

[@jakegordz101]

Can you do a floralogic episode on a genus/family/order (not to sure of the taxonomical classification) of plants known as fynbos they're endemic to the cape region of south Africa my home country

[@animalogic]

Writing this down!

[@amemooress6291]

Can yall do a segment on keystone native perennials? :D

[@lilyfeng6598]

😮😮😮 thanks! I should avoid them next time when I see them.

[@artfx9]

We call them "dog mumbles". 😂

[@YoungBlue69]

"Don't make your kids whistles from random shit outside" WISE WORDS

[@lokiiago_x0x]

“…or is it just mine?” 😂

[@jaimemetz7176]

Not "Don't let your kids whistle on random shit outside" lmao

[@jwenting]

"the garbage man is doing his business slowly, causing cardiac arrest"....

[@corvid...]

Tasha is the best.. I had to comment twice just to say that Tasha. Is. The. Best 😊 oh damn, Danielle is also the best... And so is

[@aishikbarman9426]

Fear and Hunger 2 players when they see some Hemlock: instantly make some poison.

[@joann5051]

I grew up and never knew that this plant was poisonous, I would make wildflower bouquets with it. I try to not let plants touch my skin I seem to have an allergic reaction to pretty much anything nowadays. When I was a kid my skin wasn't so sensitive but now I break out in hives and itch it doesn't seem to matter what touches me. I keep Benadryl and Benadryl ointment around.😕

[@benmaharaj6854]

Do Kentucky Coffeetree. They're an interesting example of evolutionary anachronism.

[@bobdenton1]

Five years ago, poison hemlock grew in my patio. Barehanded, I pulled it out. Zero negative effects… However, I won’t do that again!

[@letolethe3344]

Please do a video on poison hemlock and Socrates' death!!!

[@niklas9496]

Maybe talk about the strange relationships of Nepenthes hemsleyana with bats and Nepenthes lowii with tree shrews. They are very strange and interesting plants on their own already. Or maybe Nepenthes jamban with it's pitchers wich look like a toilette and they are also named after the local word for toilette. In general, the genus Nepenthes has a lot of very interesting and strange species.

[@kimsuncha]

every city supposed to put written warning note about these plants on the streets

[@jacksutton4643]

Funny, hemlock water dropwort where I live is everywhere and it stinks when broken.

[@patrick247two]

I would like to see The Amazon do an episode free style.