Single Record

Participant Info

Species
Cicuta maculata [Cicuta douglasii, misidentified]
Family
Apiaceae
CommonName
spotted water hemlock, cowbane, suicide root
Presence
Yes
Status
native
EarliestDate
1913
LatestDate
2016
Ecosystem
basin, shrubland
Geobotanical
Garitas, SSanjuans, NCristos, UBasin, LBasin
Counties
Alamosa, Conejos, Costilla, Mineral, Rio Grande, Saguache
Passes
WildlifePreserves
Monte Vista
Other Localities
Comments
Under the name "Cicuta maculata," SEINet has only one Watershed record, with an ambiguous location: "Cochetopa National Forest, west of Saguache" (Saguache Co, 1913). But under the incorrect name of "Cicuta douglasii" SEINet shows records scattered from around the Watershed (Rio Grande, Alamosa, Conejos, Costilla, and Saguache counties,1934-2016), often from wet ditches by roads. The photo record from the Monte Vista NWR was of a plant in a ditch by the visitors tour road. As much as poison hemlock (Conium maculatum), Cicuta maculata is very poisonous to humans. The voucher records may under-represent the presence of the species in the Watershed. One can understand the possible reluctance of botanists to collect specimens. Cicuta maculata is present in every state of the USA, and in the Rio Grande drainage through New Mexico to the Mexican border. BONAP also shows a location in the Big Bend country of Texas. Incidentally, in the USA Cicuta douglasii is found only in the Pacific coast states and parts of northern Idaho and western Montana.