Wintergreen Vs. Hemlock

Plant Families

• Hemlock is a member of the family N.O. Umbelliferae. Wintergreen is part of the family N.O. Ericaceae.

Uses

• Anglo-Saxon doctors used poison hemlock for medicinal purposes; the ancient Romans used the plant as a poison. Wintergreen is frequently distilled into oil of wintergreen, which is thought to be a "tonic, stimulant or astringent," according to www.botanical.com.

Parts Used

• Wintergreen leaves are used to obtain oil of wintergreen. Hemlock leaves and fruit are harvested and used in the juice of conium, conium ointment, and the green extract of conium.

Habitat

• Wintergreen is found in sandy soil in damp, wooded areas. It is frequently found under evergreen trees in Canada and the northeastern United States, according to the Purdue University Center for New Crops and Plant Products. Poison hemlock is found in waste places and along roadsides, especially in the eastern United States.

Common Names

• According to the Purdue University Center for New Crops and Plant Products, poison hemlock is also known as spotted parsley, spotted cowbane, poison parsley, bad-man's-oatmeal, cashes, bunk, heck-how, poison root, spotted hemlock, spotted conium, poison snakeweed and beaver poison. According to www.botanical.com, wintergreen is also known as teaberry, boxberry, mountain tea and checkerberry.