Spotted Water-hemlock
Cicuta maculata
Highly poisonous
Native to Alabama. Not suggested for planting. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 100%
- Height
- 6 feet
- Light
- Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Usually moist
Highly poisonous. Serious poisoning risk if eaten. Excluded from default planting suggestions; keep away from children and pets. Plant caution source
Hidden from default planting suggestions. Wildlife value and native status remain unchanged.
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Biennial or perennial
- Bloom
- Summer
Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves
Recorded in 58 Alabama counties.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Alabama. Shared habitat, not food. 115 animals.
- Brown ThrasherToxostoma rufum
- Brown-headed CowbirdMolothrus ater
- CanvasbackAythya valisineria
- Carolina ChickadeePoecile carolinensis
- Carolina WrenThryothorus ludovicianus
- Cedar WaxwingBombycilla cedrorum
- Chimney SwiftChaetura pelagica
- Chipping SparrowSpizella passerina
- Cliff SwallowPetrochelidon pyrrhonota
- Common GrackleQuiscalus quiscula
- Common NighthawkChordeiles minor
- Common YellowthroatGeothlypis trichas
- Cooper's HawkAccipiter cooperii
- Double-crested CormorantPhalacrocorax auritus
- Downy WoodpeckerPicoides pubescens
- Eastern KingbirdTyrannus tyrannus
- Eastern PhoebeSayornis phoebe
- Eastern Screech-owlMegascops asio
- Eastern TowheePipilo erythrophthalmus
- Eastern Wood-peweeContopus virens
- Eurasian Collared-doveStreptopelia decaocto
- European StarlingSturnus vulgaris
- Evening GrosbeakCoccothraustes vespertinus
- Fish CrowCorvus ossifragus
Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
5CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL
Genus host records with ranges including AL · Cicuta
- Archips argyrospilaFruit-Tree Leafroller Moth
- Chlorochlamys chloroleucariaBlackberry Looper Moth
- Papaipema marginidensBrick-Red Borer
- Papilio polyxenesBlack Swallowtail, Celery Caterpillar, Fennel Worm, Desert Black Swallowtail, Parsnip Swallowtail
- Platynota flavedanaBlack-Shaded Platynota
4BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Cicuta
Individual names are not available yet.
Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
1BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Cicuta
- Gallinula galeataCommon Gallinule
Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
1AntsRecorded seed interactions
- Formica fusca
Beetles 11
- Batyle suturalis
- Bruchus bivulneratus
- Centrinus picumnus
- Centrinus scutellum album
- Coccinella 9-notata
- Diabrotica 12-punctata
- Epicauta trichrus
- Euderces picipes
- Mordella melaena
- Mordella scutellaris
Show all 11
- Scymnus consobrinus
Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA
Flies 52
- Agromyza latipes
- Archytas analis
- Archytas aterrima
- Archytas hystrix
- Belvosia bifasciata
- Belvosia unifasciata
- Calythea albicincta
- Cistogaster occidua
- Conops xanthopareus
- Ennyomma clistoides
Show all 52
- Eristalis flavipes
- Eristalis latifrons
- Eristalis tenax
- Eugnoriste occidentalis
- Exoprosopa fascipennis
- Exorista confinis
- Graphomyia americana
- Gymnosoma fuliginosa
- Hippelates plebejus
- Limnophora narona
- Mallota illinoensis
- Morellia micans
- Musca domestica
- Nemotelus glaber
- Opsidia gonioides
- Orthoneura nitida
- Paradidyma singularis
- Phasioclista metallica
- Phorantha pruinosa
- Phorantha purpurascens
- Phormia regina
- Pipiza pulchella
- Sarcophaga assidua
- Sarcophaga hunteri
- Sarcophaga sinuata
- Scatopse pulicaria
- Scenopinus nubillipes
- Scepsis fulvicollis
- Sciara atrata
- Senotainia trilineata
- Spallanzania hesperidarum
- Sphaerophoria cylindrica
- Stomoxys calcitrans
- Stratiomyia meigenii
- Stratiomyia unilimbata
- Sturmia nigrita
- Tachina rustica
- Trichophora ruficauda
- Trichopoda pennipes
- Tropidia quadrata
- Winthemia 4-pustulata
- Zodion nanellum
Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA
Adult butterflies / moths 2
- Argynnis cybele
- Phyciodes tharos
Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA
Other wasps 75
- Ammobia ichneumonea
- Ammobia pennsylvanica
- Anacrabro ocellatus
- Ancistrocerus tigris
- Anoplius illinoensis
- Astatus bicolor
- Astatus unicolor
- Bassus sanctus
- Bembix spinolae
- Bicyrtes 4-fasciata
Show all 75
- Bracon vernoniae
- Bruchophagus funebris
- Cerceris clypeata
- Cerceris fumipennis
- Cerceris kennicottii
- Ceropales bipunctata
- Ceropales fraterna
- Ceropales fulvipes
- Ceropales robinsonii
- Chalcis flavipes
- Chalybion caeruleum
- Chlorion caeruleum
- Cryptocheilus fulgifrons
- Ectemnius atriceps
- Eucerceris zonatus
- Eumenes fraternus
- Ichneumon jucundus
- Iphiaulax rugator
- Isodontia apicalis
- Isodontia macrocephala
- Leionotus arvensis
- Leionotus dorsalis
- Leionotus scrophulariae
- Lindenius errans
- Lyroda subita
- Monobia 4-dens
- Notoglossa cressonii
- Notoglossa emarginata
- Notoglossa inornata
- Notogonidea argentata
- Nysson plagiatus
- Orgilus rileyi
- Oxybelus 4-notatus
- Philanthus punctatus
- Poecilopompilus interruptus
- Poecilopompilus navus
- Polistes annularis
- Polistes pallipes
- Polistes rubiginosus
- Polistes variatus
- Pompiloides americanus
- Priononyx atrata
- Priononyx thomae
- Psammochares relativus
- Psen tibialis
- Pseudoplisus phaleratus
- Scolia nobilitata
- Sphex gracilis
- Sphex nigricans
- Sphex vulgaris
- Stizus unicinctus
- Tachysphex acutus
- Tachysphex belfragei
- Tachysphex tarsatus
- Tachysphex terminatus
- Tachytes mandibularis
- Tachytes obscurus
- Tachytes pepticus
- Tachytes sericatus
- Tiphia illinoensis
- Tiphia transversa
- Trypoxylon tridentatum
- Vespula maculata
- Vespula vidua
- Zanysson aurinotus
Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA
Other insects 2
- Corimelaena pulicaria
- Phymata wolffii
Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA
Growing and identification
Plant details
- Family
- Apiaceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 5a–9b
- Soil pH
- Acidic to neutral
- Flower color
- White
What its natural habitat tells you
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “Summer” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs)
- Flower color · “White” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Hardiness · “Zones 5a–9b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “6 feet” · Tennessee Smart Yards (ranked first; Minnesota Wildflowers, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ) · Published Tennessee growing guidance; exact cached scientific heading
- Life cycle · “Biennial or perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ)
- primary_flower_color · “white” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil · “Moist; Occasionally wet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ)
- Soil pH · “Acidic to neutral” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
Spotted Water hemlock; Water Hemlock
Conservation status
| Alabama rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| AL status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
In your garden
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Choose a county to begin.
Growing cautions
- Self-seeds freely. Re-seeds readily. Tennessee Smart Yards
For planning only; these do not change the score or Fit.
Sources
- Alabama Plant Atlas
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- NatureServe Explorer
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications