Poison hemlock vs. Queen Anne's lace

[Ken A Ursic]

VSHRADER at DELPHI.COM (vshrader at news.delphi.com) wrote:
: Please help me to identify some plants in my yeard which I think are 
: poisonous...

: I live in Northern California.  The plants start out looking like carrot 
: tops, with purple spots on the stem, and even a carrot-like root.  They 
: grow into tall plants with a more woody stem (still with purple spots) 
: with tufts of tiny white flowers.  The flowers are in small bunches, as 
: opposed to a large bunch at the end of the twig.

: I heard a "radio naturalist" describe the carrot-like plants with purple 
: spotted stems as poison hemlock.  I also know that Queen Anne's lace is 
: known as "wild carrot".  I would like to know which plant is in my yard. 
: And by the way, is QA lace toxic?

: Thanks in advance.  I apologize profusely if this is a FAQ.

: vandy
Poison Hemlock has hollow stems, and purple spots. A lot of kids get 
poisoned using the stems as pea shooters.You probably want to get rid of 
it if there are kids around. Whatever you do be cautious.
KEN
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Ken Ursic <KURSIC at UOGUELPH.CA>
Cliff Ecology Research Group
Dept. of Botany, University of Guelph        
Guelph, Ontario, CANADA