Akshilly, she almost killed herself, and here's how it almost happened.
Rosario's from Chile but staying with us in order to learn about permaculture. That involves gardening and it was while she was out in the garden, forking up soil in readiness for sowing seed, that she unearthed a tasty looking root (pictured). "It was so white" she said later, "and it spoke to me - try me!". so she did, nibble nibble but she shouldn't have, as hemlock is poisonous in all its parts. As she took her second bite, Adam looked up from his own digging, saw what was going down, hauled on his saviour-suit and stayed her hand. 'It tasted so sweet" said Rosario, as she climbed into the ambulance, "I'd have eaten more, if Adam hadn't been there."
At the hospital, they glued on the monitoring 'pads' and wired her up to the heart monitor. A mere 12 hours later, she was given a clean bill of health and allowed to return home to sleep it off (with just the one 2:00am "Are you okay, Rosa?")
She was and still is.
Hemlock is a neurotoxin and can kill you. Or Rosario. It's also a beautiful and useful plant. I'm conflicted.
7 comments:
Wow, I wouldn't have picked hemlock root as being sweet.
There is a good lesson here - never eat anything you can't ID, even in a permie garden ;-)
(I often have poisonous things in my garden too).
Mejoran pronto Rosario!
What a frightening experience for all of you.
I'm glad Al Brown didn't incorporate hemlock in any of his Riverton creations.
Nor I wildcrafty - and your advice is good, though I'd say, 'learn to identify everything in your garden and beyond' :-)
Suz - Al's not quite so adventurous as our Rosario!
Best word she taught me, and on the topic of poisonous plants - mandragora! The pronunciation of which is something to hear!
Haha poisonous story with a happy ending and an unforgettable lesson: always eat random plants when there is a hero around!
He sure knows his plants, that hero of yours!
Oh, and I forgot to mention, Rosario, there's this berry called 'tutu'...
You mentioned that hemlock is useful. What is it useful for, exactly (other than getting rid of pesky philosophers)?
Hi anonymous. It's a bold claim, I know, but one I stand by. I've noticed that the soil beneath a crop of hemlock is pretty much the best soil in the world - soft, friable, dark and generally as good as it gets. The leaves of hemlopck, like those of cow parsley and Queen Anne's Lace, are 'ferny' and plentiful and must be responsible for the quality of the soil. On top of that, the flowers of hemlock, like others in the apiacaea family, attract and sustain hoverflies and other predatory insects that manage aphids and caterpillars. Unfortuneately, hemlock also attracts Chileans :-)
Plus, it smells of mice, not sure why that is. All in all though, a lovely plant, but risky to have around.
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