Omnia SanaThis tool aids identification but does not replace an expert. Never eat a wild plant or fungus on the strength of a single feature. When in doubt, throw it out.
Dropwort can be confused with 1 dangerous plant/fungus. Check every distinguishing feature before you trust an identification.
Among the most poisonous plants in Britain; the fleshy, parsnip-like roots ("dead man's fingers") are intensely toxic and cause vomiting, violent convulsions and death; often smells pleasant, which disarms foragers.
Confusable part: Name confusion: 'dropwort' (this plant) vs 'hemlock water-dropwort' (Oenanthe crocata).
The share of the name 'dropwort' is a hazard: hemlock water-dropwort (Oenanthe crocata) is one of the deadliest plants in Europe (oenanthotoxin, violent convulsions). The two plants look nothing alike, but a forager going by common name alone could confuse them. This entry exists to make the difference unmistakable.
How to tell them apart
- Family and form: true dropwort (Filipendula vulgaris, Rosaceae) is a slender plant with a basal rosette of fern-like pinnate leaves and creamy 6-petalled flowers in a loose cyme; hemlock water-dropwort (Oenanthe crocata, Apiaceae/carrot family) is a stout hollow-stemmed plant with celery-like leaves and flat white UMBELS.
- Habitat: Filipendula vulgaris grows in DRY calcareous grassland; Oenanthe crocata grows in WET ground - ditches, streamsides, marshes.
- Root: dropwort has fibrous roots with small bead-like tubers; hemlock water-dropwort has a cluster of large pale fleshy finger-like tubers ('dead man's fingers').
If it has flat white umbels, celery-like leaves, a hollow stem and grows in wet ground with fleshy finger-like root tubers, it is hemlock water-dropwort (deadly) - NOT dropwort. True dropwort has fern-like basal leaves, creamy 6-petalled flowers and grows in dry grassland.
Educational identification aid compiled from the Omnia Sana plant database and cited botanical and toxicological sources. Not medical advice and not a substitute for expert identification.