What to Know About This Beautiful but Deadly Foliage in Montana

• The hemlock plant in Montana is abundant across the state of Montana in wet and wooded areas
• The plant is toxic to humans and can lead to nervousness, muscle weakness, and respiratory failure leading to death
• The plant first flourished in eastern parts of the state but has moved more westerly over the last 20 years

What to Know About This Beautiful but Deadly Foliage in Montana

If you hang outside in Montana and Big Sky Country long enough, you will probably come across a luscious, white flowered, towering plant.  You may even think they are a beautiful flower of some sort.

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But beware.  This plant is incredibly toxic to not only humans, but also to livestock, wildlife and pets alike.  Its scientific name is Conium Maculatum, but it is better known as hemlock.

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How to Identify Hemlock While in the Montana Outdoors

The plant is pretty easily spotted in the wild.

And it is quite striking.  But also, deadly.  The hemlock plant has been used as such as far back as the Greeks.  It was also used by Native American tribes to tip arrows with the poison.

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The plant was first introduced via Europe in the 1800's as an ornamental decoration foliage.  It has since travelled to every state except Hawaii.

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Where You will Find This Deadly Plant Across Montana and More

For the most part, poison hemlock occurs in more wet areas but can occur pretty much anywhere it can get a foothold.  From the Montana State Extension Office:

Poison hemlock grows at low elevations bordering pastures and cropland and gradually invades perennial crops. It occurs where moisture is adequate, and disturbance is relatively frequent – for example, stream and ditch banks, riparian woodlands and flood plains.

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You can read more about this plant with the MSU website here.

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