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With regards,
J.M.Garg
"We often ignore the beauty around us"
Creating Awareness about Indian Flora & Fauna:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Jmgarg1
For learning about our trees & plants, please visit/ join Google e-group (Indiantreepix) http://groups.google.co.in/group/indiantreepix?hl=en
While flora-watching (I have borrowed this term from Dr Anil Kumar), and I can assure you that this is as much rewarding as is birdwatching, yesterday in Sonepat, Haryana, I came across quite a few plants which I am not able to ID yet.
Thank you Garg Sahib and Rohit ji,It looks like Pimpinella saxifraga at http://images.google.co.in/images?hl=en&q=+Pimpinella+saxifraga&gbv=2&aq=f&oq=Kind regards,Suresh
On 5/3/09, J.M. Garg <jmg...@gmail.com> wrote:Some Pimpinella species from Apiaceae?
2009/5/3 Suresh C. Sharma <bush...@gmail.com>
While flora-watching (I have borrowed this term from Dr Anil Kumar), and I can assure you that this is as much rewarding as is birdwatching, yesterday in Sonepat, Haryana, I came across quite a few plants which I am not able to ID yet.This one was growing adjacent to an irrigation channel towards the shady area.ID help requested please.Kind regards,Suresh C Sharma
Cicuta virosa (Cowbane or Northern Water Hemlock) is a species of Cicuta, native to northern and central Europe, northern Asia and northwestern North America. It is a perennial herbaceous plant which grows up to 1–2 m tall. The stems are smooth, branching, swollen at the base, purple-striped, and hollow except for partitions at the junction of the leaves and stem. In cross section the stems have one flat side and the other sides are rounded. The leaves are alternate, tripinnate, only coarsely toothed, unlike the ferny, lacy leaves found in many other members of the family Apiaceae. The flowers are small, white and clustered in umbrella shaped inflorescences typical of the family. The many flowered umbellets have unequal pedicels that range from 5 to 11 cm long during fruiting. An oily, yellow liquid oozes from cuts to the stems and roots. This liquid has a rank smell resembling that of parsnips, carrots or mice. The plant may be mistaken for parsnip due to its clusters of white tuberous roots.
It grows in wet meadows, along streambanks and other wet and marshy areas.
The yellow resin contains cicutoxin, which disrupts the workings of the central nervous system. In humans, cicutoxin rapidly produces symptoms of nausea, emesis and abdominal pain, typically within 60 minutes of ingestion. This can lead to tremors and seizures. A single bite of the root (which has the highest concentration of cicutoxin) can be sufficient to cause death. In animals the toxic dose and the lethal dose are nearly the same. One gram of water hemlock per kilogram of weight will kill a sheep and 230 grams is sufficient to kill a horse. Due to the rapid onset of symptoms, treatment is usually unsuccessful.