Apparently it is indeed referring to hemlock (Oenanthe crocata):
Contains oenanthotoxin. 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 in these circumstances. Scientists at the University of Eastern Piedmont in Italy claimed to have identified this as the plant responsible for producing the sardonic grin, and it 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.
Holy fuck, Sardinia. Being dropped from a great height or beaten to death by people I held as babies while tripping sounds like one of the worst ways to go.
Well, if you are just avoiding Apiaceae (the carrot family) plants aren’t that hard to ID safely and the likelihood of you poisoning yourself should drop by a lot. But yeah, you’d need to learn a bit about plants in the first place and not a lot of people are motivated enough to do that.
Apiaceae, the carrot family, is full of wild species that are incredibly poisonous. Basically if it looks like a carrot in the wild dont eat it or you might die.
Same goes for if it looks like a Tomato, those are nightshades and the only ones I know about that aren’t deadly to eat are tomatoes and peppers, and the peppers only because the poison they developed doesn’t kill you it just makes you feel like your entire digestive tract is on fire.
Eggplants, potatoes, ground cherries, tomatillos, huckleberries are all edible too. That said you are right, if it is growing in the wild assume it will kill you. Don’t eat it.
Huckleberries and blueberries are not related closely at all. Huckleberries are in the nightshade family, Solanaceae. Blueberries are in the blueberry family, Ericacaea. Their morphologies, or growth forms, are very very different.
When I looked into this what I came away with was there was a single species of nightshade that is sometimes called “Garden Huckleberries”, which are unrelated to what are commonly known as “true huckleberries”. True Huckleberries are all in the genera Vaccinium and Gaylussacia, which are contained in the family Ericaceae, of which “Ericacaea” is either an alternative or misspelling.
Ericaceae is the family name. There is no alternative spelling, it was a typo on my part. (The comment above yours is edited to be clearer) Thank you for catching that. Plant family names end in ‘eae’.
Thank you for the description of Vaccinium and Gaylussacia. That is super interesting, I’ve never heard them referred to as “true huckleberries”.
Your comment points to the larger issue with common names. And I apologize if you know this, but hopefully it is helpful to folks who come across this post. Common names can be applied to two or more plants that aren’t related. They are colloquial and can apply to edible plants and poisonous plants at once. Some plants have multiple common names. Some plants have no common names at all because they have no existing functional relationship with humanity. Many common names are simply adopted from the species’ genera (I like this!). Common names cause confusion and muck up the clarity of botanical conversation of people across places/upbringings.
Totally. Once you see the flowers, you can’t unsee it. Families are based on flower structures. Once you see and begin to know the flower structures, you’ll know a sage is a mint, a hibiscus is a mallow, a manzanita is a blueberry, on and on. Fun free puzzles if nothing else.
You must be confused, or perhaps you’re not talking about the same species that I am thinking about. Huckleberries, genus Gaylussacia, are definitely in the same family as blueberries, Vaccinium. They’re both Ericaceae, in the subfamily Vaccinioideae. Gaylussacia is definitely not in Solanaceae.
Two species of blueberry as well as cranberry grow natively in a few bog habitats near my home, and huckleberries are also sympatric with these species.
ETA: I saw some context from other comments in this chain that somebody else already beat me to this. I, too, didn’t realize that there were, if you were, “false” huckleberries in the nightshade family.
To add to both of our shared confusion, there is even a false huckleberry from within the blueberry family, but instead the Ericoideae subfamily: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/553849-Rhododendron-menziesii. I have no experience with this plant, or even really this subfamily, as it isn’t exactly endemic to my neck of the woods.
True or false, common names are confusing. Huckleberries are called huckleberries, regardless of family or genus. I wasn’t confused, I was naive. Just didn’t know that other plants were called huckleberries. Binomial nomenclature rocks.
I know nothing about plants.
Yeah, I am not botanical enough to get this, but presumably it’s something poisonous?
Looks pretty similar to hemlock.
Hemlock, I believe.
Apparently it is indeed referring to hemlock (Oenanthe crocata):
(From Wiki page on poisonous plants)
But the main wiki page on Oenanthe crocata doesn’t even mention this.
Holy fuck, Sardinia. Being dropped from a great height or beaten to death by people I held as babies while tripping sounds like one of the worst ways to go.
Sounds like the movie Midsommar may have taken some inspiration from it haha
Or hallucinogenic? Although if there were an easy-to-forage hallucinogen that looked like celery I’m pretty sure I’d know about it.
The roots of the common reed contain dimethyltryptamine. Not sure if it’s enough to make a tea, never heard of anyone doing it.
A trip down the river Styx
Look up “Sardonic Grin”. It’s one of those things that makes you think this is interesting, and also never going to eat wild plants again.
Well, if you are just avoiding Apiaceae (the carrot family) plants aren’t that hard to ID safely and the likelihood of you poisoning yourself should drop by a lot. But yeah, you’d need to learn a bit about plants in the first place and not a lot of people are motivated enough to do that.
Apiaceae, the carrot family, is full of wild species that are incredibly poisonous. Basically if it looks like a carrot in the wild dont eat it or you might die.
Same goes for if it looks like a Tomato, those are nightshades and the only ones I know about that aren’t deadly to eat are tomatoes and peppers, and the peppers only because the poison they developed doesn’t kill you it just makes you feel like your entire digestive tract is on fire.
Eggplants, potatoes, ground cherries, tomatillos, huckleberries are all edible too. That said you are right, if it is growing in the wild assume it will kill you. Don’t eat it.
Huckleberry varieties are all Nightshades? Does that mean blueberries are Nightshades?
Huckleberries and blueberries are not related closely at all. Huckleberries are in the nightshade family, Solanaceae. Blueberries are in the blueberry family, Ericacaea. Their morphologies, or growth forms, are very very different.
When I looked into this what I came away with was there was a single species of nightshade that is sometimes called “Garden Huckleberries”, which are unrelated to what are commonly known as “true huckleberries”. True Huckleberries are all in the genera Vaccinium and Gaylussacia, which are contained in the family Ericaceae, of which “Ericacaea” is either an alternative or misspelling.
Ericaceae is the family name. There is no alternative spelling, it was a typo on my part. (The comment above yours is edited to be clearer) Thank you for catching that. Plant family names end in ‘eae’.
Thank you for the description of Vaccinium and Gaylussacia. That is super interesting, I’ve never heard them referred to as “true huckleberries”.
Your comment points to the larger issue with common names. And I apologize if you know this, but hopefully it is helpful to folks who come across this post. Common names can be applied to two or more plants that aren’t related. They are colloquial and can apply to edible plants and poisonous plants at once. Some plants have multiple common names. Some plants have no common names at all because they have no existing functional relationship with humanity. Many common names are simply adopted from the species’ genera (I like this!). Common names cause confusion and muck up the clarity of botanical conversation of people across places/upbringings.
Cheers.
I didn’t realise blueberries were in the Heather family but it makes sense.
Totally. Once you see the flowers, you can’t unsee it. Families are based on flower structures. Once you see and begin to know the flower structures, you’ll know a sage is a mint, a hibiscus is a mallow, a manzanita is a blueberry, on and on. Fun free puzzles if nothing else.
You must be confused, or perhaps you’re not talking about the same species that I am thinking about. Huckleberries, genus Gaylussacia, are definitely in the same family as blueberries, Vaccinium. They’re both Ericaceae, in the subfamily Vaccinioideae. Gaylussacia is definitely not in Solanaceae.
Two species of blueberry as well as cranberry grow natively in a few bog habitats near my home, and huckleberries are also sympatric with these species.
ETA: I saw some context from other comments in this chain that somebody else already beat me to this. I, too, didn’t realize that there were, if you were, “false” huckleberries in the nightshade family.
To add to both of our shared confusion, there is even a false huckleberry from within the blueberry family, but instead the Ericoideae subfamily: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/553849-Rhododendron-menziesii. I have no experience with this plant, or even really this subfamily, as it isn’t exactly endemic to my neck of the woods.
True or false, common names are confusing. Huckleberries are called huckleberries, regardless of family or genus. I wasn’t confused, I was naive. Just didn’t know that other plants were called huckleberries. Binomial nomenclature rocks.
Potatoes, believe it or not, are also nightshades.
Actually I’m pretty sure those can poison you if you don’t grab them at the right time
The berries of potatoes are poisonous, just the tubers aren’t unless exposed to sunlight.
The tubers will give you a fever if eaten raw.
Yes, and also it can be poisonous later down the line after harvested
When a whole family dies because of bad air in a cellar, isn’t it usually potatoes that caused it?
That’s why we remove the eyes. Also be sure to remove any green parts.
And tobacco
Ah ok, so like Queen Anne’s Lace and Poison Hemlock?
Yes
Yeah, water hemlock, cowbane, fool’s parsley, wild parsnip, etc, etc.
Yep. Hemlock is one of them
Hemlock water-dropwort looks like celery. It causes muscle spasms, which at times results in the victim dying with a grin on their face.
Neither do the LLMs you used to identify your “wild celery” lol