Conium maculatum Conium maculatum Conium maculatum, the hemlock or poison hemlock, is a highly poisonous biennial herbaceous flowering plant in the carrot family Apiaceae, native to Europe and North Africa. A hardy plant capable of living in a variety of environments, hemlock is widely naturalized in locations outside its native range. "Conium maculatum" is known by several common names. In addition to the English hemlock, the Australian carrot fern and the Irish devil's bread or devil's porridge, the following names are also used: poison parsley, spotted corobane and spotted hemlock. The plant should not be confused with the coniferous tree "Tsuga", also
Plant secondary metabolism in which it seems useful in seed dormancy phase. To get a better understanding of how secondary metabolites play a big role in plant defense mechanisms we can focus on the recognizable defense-related secondary metabolites, cyanogenic glycosides. The compounds of these secondary metabolites (As seen in Figure 1) are found in over 2000 plant species. Its structure allows the release of cyanide, a poison produced by certain bacteria, fungi, and algae that is found in numerous plants. Animals and humans possess the ability to detoxify cyanide from their systems naturally. Therefore, cyanogenic glycosides can be used for positive benefits in