Hemlock, Medicinal Plant, 1737
A Curious Herbal, Plate 451. Hemlock contains a highly toxic substance which the Ancient Greeks used to put criminals to death. Blackwell believed that it was no longer poisonous because "several persons have eat some quantity of the root and stalk without any bad consequence." Hemlock (Conium maculatum) is a perennial herbaceous flowering plants in the family Apiaceae. All parts of the plant are toxic. Despite serious safety concerns, hemlock leaves, root, and seeds are used to make medicine. It is used for breathing problems including bronchitis, whooping cough, and asthma; and for painful conditions including teething in children, swollen and painful joints, and cramps. It is also used for anxiety and mania, treatment of spasms tumors, skin infections, epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, Sydenham's chorea, and bladder infections. Hemlock has also been used to reverse strychnine poisoning. Elizabeth Blackwell (1707-1758) was a famed Scottish illustrator and author who was best known as both the artist and engraver for the plates of "A Curious Herbal" (1737).
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