Conium maculatum the difficulty in associating malformations with the much earlier maternal poisoning. Since no specific antidote is available, prevention is the only way to deal with the production losses caused by the plant. Control with herbicides and grazing with less-susceptible animals (such as sheep) have been suggested. "C. maculatum" alkaloids can enter the human food chain via milk and fowl. "Conium maculatum" is the plant that killed Theramenes, Socrates and Phocion. In ancient Greece, hemlock was used to poison condemned prisoners. Socrates, the most famous victim of hemlock poisoning, was accused of impiety and corrupting the young men of Athens in
Mandragora (genus) Mandragora (genus) Mandragora is a plant genus belonging to the nightshade family (Solanaceae). Members of the genus are known as mandrakes. There are between three and five species in the genus. The one or two species found around the Mediterranean constitute the mandrake of ancient writers such as Dioscorides. Two or three further species are found eastwards into China. All are perennial herbaceous plants, with large tap-roots and leaves in the form of a rosette. Individual flowers are bell-shaped, whitish through to violet, and are followed by yellow or orange berries. Like many members of the Solanaceae, species of "Mandragora"