Water dropwort
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See Oenanthe for the bird genus of this name.
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O. aquatica - Fine-leafed water dropwort |
The Oenanthe or water dropworts are a genus of plants from the family Apiaceae.
Several of the species, most notably O. crocota, are extremely poisonous. This species closely resembles the Parsnip, both in foliage and the white root. The root is particularly dangerous, as it lacks the unpleasant flavour of the foliage, but is equally toxic: the species is common in wet ditches and streamsides, and the roots are often exposed when drainage ditches are cleared. Livestock fatalities are frequent when these exposed roots are found and eaten in mistake for parsnips, one root being sufficient to kill a cow. Human fatalities are also known in these circumstances.