Water Hemlock - Most Violently Toxic Plant in North America

[@zacharyadrian410]

Fascinating, humorous, and educational! Just how I like my KZbin videos

[@zacharyadrian410]

Nice to see a video on something I’ve read about in the past

[@pascalgraebel6335]

Thanks

[@gina6432]

Thank you for the educational videos!

[@milabrooklyn5879]

Love this plant, it's amazing for its medicinal properties.

[@Avastrath]

"Water Hemlock is not for everyone..." 🤣

[@Bellaaaaaaaxxo]

This was so informative and helpful. As someone who’s just become interested in foraging I read that valerian grows in my area and when trying to read how to identify it I came across something saying water hemlock looks similar and to be careful.. so I was looking at how to know if something is water hemlock, and that’s how I came across your video.. the way you’ve shown with arrows and everything how to identify the leaves and all is so helpful.

[@AmblingwithSam]

Thanks! I'm glad to know this was helpful. The carrot family can be a tricky bunch to figure out!

[@Youdontknowmeson1324]

They have edible relative called Skirret that makes long edible tubers. You should look it up.

[@AmblingwithSam]

Oh hey, it isn't often I encounter someone else who's heard of skirret! I've wanted to try growing them for a while, but the sellers always seem to be out of stock at just the moment I try to order. Have you tried them? I'm curious what they taste like.

[@Youdontknowmeson1324]

@@AmblingwithSam I bought a plant but it died never tried

[@AmblingwithSam]

Ah bummer. That is how it goes sometimes.

[@hammond6305]

0:10 I see what you did there

[@zacharyadrian410]

Another thought, I was wondering, might you know how medical professionals would treat someone suffering water hemlock poisoning? I feel like I’ve only heard of antivenoms for animals

[@AmblingwithSam]

Great question! Some plant toxins do have specific antidotes (if it's antibody-derived like an antivenom, the more specific term would be antitoxin), but as far as I've read there is no known antidote for cicutoxin. So instead, if a person was suffering water hemlock poisoning, they would treat the symptoms, mainly with anti-seizure medications (such as diazepam and phenobarbital) and muscle relaxants, and then provide breathing support. If kidney failure is involved, forced diuresis (forcing the body to produce more urine) and haemodialysis (artifiically filtering the blood for the kidneys) can also be used. I also saw mention of stomach pumping and ingesting activated charcoal given as treatments, the latter particularly if the person hasn't shown any symptoms yet.