The
water dropworts,
Oenanthe icon, are a
genusIn biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of plants in the family
ApiaceaeThe Apiaceae , commonly known as carrot or parsley family, is a group of mostly aromatic plants with hollow stems. The family is large, with more than 3,700 species spread across 434 genera, it is the sixteenth largest family of flowering plants...
. Most of the
speciesIn biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
grow in damp ground, in marshes or in water.
Several of the species are extremely poisonous, the active poison being
oenanthotoxinOenanthotoxin is a toxin extracted from hemlock water dropwort and other plants of the genus Oenanthe. It is a central nervous system poison, and acts as a noncompetitive gamma-aminobutyric acid antagonist. This toxin played some role in euthanasia in ancient Sardinia, for inducing risus...
. The most notable of these is
O. crocata, which lives in damp, marshy ground, and resembles
celeryApium graveolens is a plant species in the family Apiaceae commonly known as celery or celeriac , depending on whether the petioles or roots are eaten: celery refers to the former and celeriac to the latter. Apium graveolens grows to 1 m tall...
with roots like a bunch of large white
carrotThe carrot is a root vegetable, usually orange in colour, though purple, red, white, and yellow varieties exist. It has a crisp texture when fresh...
s. The leaves may be eaten safely by
livestockLivestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...
, 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. It has been referred to as the most poisonous of all British plants, and is considered particularly dangerous because of its similarity to several edible plants.
The species
O. javanicaJapanese parsley or Chinese celery is a plant of the water dropwort genus originating from East Asia.While many other species of water dropwort are extremely toxic, Oenanthe javanica is edible, and is cultivated in the People's Republic of China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Thailand , the...
, commonly known as Chinese celery or Japanese parsley (
seri; not to be confused with
mitsuba or
Japanese wild celeryCryptotaenia is a genus of two species of herbaceous perennial plants, native to North America and eastern Asia, growing wild in moist, shady places.-Species:*Cryptotaenia canadensis...
, a plant from a different genus) is edible and grown in several countries of eastern
AsiaAsia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, as well as in
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and
IndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, where the spring growth is relished as a vegetable.
Names
"
Oenanthe" is derived from the Greek
oinos "wine" and
anthos "flower", from the wine-like scent of the flowers.
The name "water dropwort" comes from the close resemblance of some of the smaller species (which mainly grow in wet ground) to
dropwortDropwort , also known as Fern-leaf Dropwort, is a perennial herb of the family Rosaceae closely related to Meadowsweet...
(
Filipendula vulgaris) (Rosaceae), an unrelated plant of dry grassland.
Sardonic grin
Scientists at the
University of Eastern PiedmontThe University of Eastern Piedmont Amedeo Avogadro is a university located in Alessandria, Novara and Vercelli, Italy. It was founded in 1998 and is organized in 7 faculties...
in
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
claimed to have identified hemlock water dropwort (
Oenanthe crocata) as the plant responsible for producing the
sardonic grinRisus sardonicus is a highly characteristic, abnormal, sustained spasm of the facial muscles that appears to produce grinning.The name of the condition derives from the appearance of raised eyebrows and an open "grin" - which can appear malevolent to the lay observer - displayed by those suffering...
. This plant is the most-likely candidate for the "sardonic herb," which was a
neurotoxicA neurotoxin is a toxin that acts specifically on nerve cells , usually by interacting with membrane proteins such as ion channels. Some sources are more general, and define the effect of neurotoxins as occurring at nerve tissue...
plant used for the
ritual killingHuman sacrifice is the act of killing one or more human beings as part of a religious ritual . Its typology closely parallels the various practices of ritual slaughter of animals and of religious sacrifice in general. Human sacrifice has been practised in various cultures throughout history...
of elderly people in
PhoeniciaPhoenicia , was an ancient civilization in Canaan which covered most of the western, coastal part of the Fertile Crescent. Several major Phoenician cities were built on the coastline of the Mediterranean. It was an enterprising maritime trading culture that spread across the Mediterranean from 1550...
n
SardiniaSardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...
. 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.
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