Conium maculatum known by the common name hemlock, even though the two plants are quite different. Similarly, the plant should not be confused with "Cicuta" (commonly known as water hemlock). The dried stems are sometimes called kecksies or kex. "Conium" comes from the Ancient Greek "κώνειον - kṓneion" : "hemlock". This may be related to "konas" (meaning to whirl), in reference to vertigo, one of the symptoms of ingesting the plant. "Conium maculatum" is an herbaceous biennial flowering plant that grows to tall, with a smooth, green, hollow stem, usually spotted or streaked with red or purple on the lower half of
Bane (plant) Bane (plant) The term bane (from , meaning "thing causing death, poison"), in botany, is an archaic element in the common names of plants known to be toxic or poisonous. In the Middle Ages, several poisonous plants of the genus Aconitum were thought to have or prophylactic qualities, repelling and protecting against that which they were "banes" to (e.g. "Henbane", "Wolfsbane"). There is no single species, genus, or family of poisonous plant exclusively referred to as "banes". Several unrelated plants bear the name. In medieval Europe, the toxic entheogen Aconitine was believed to prevent werewolves from undergoing their dire transformations.