Posts Tagged ‘White Snakeroot’
February 3, 2021 Jellicoe’s Shute House Masterpiece, Carl Ludwig Blume, the Huckleberry, White Snakeroot, Both by Douglas Crase, and Celebrating Sidney Lanier
Today we celebrate a man with, perhaps, the perfect last name for a botanist: Blume. We’ll also learn about a wild berry that is a sister to the blueberry and the cranberry. We hear some words about the devastating impact of the poisonous White Snakeroot on the family of one of our American Presidents. We…
Read MoreDeadly Wild or White Snakeroot: The Toxin Behind Milk Fever
“In the early 1800s, milk sickness resulted in the death of thousands of people.The most famous person to die from it was Abraham Lincoln’s mother in 1818.” July 8, 1965 On this day, the Vincennes, Indiana newspaper reported on a sickness caused by snakeroot: It was about 140 years ago, that the town of Hindustan,…
Read MoreToxic Plant Spotlight: Wild or White Snakeroot; the Plant that Killed Abraham Lincoln’s Mother
“Wild or White snakeroot is a problem for livestock if they consume it. All parts of the plant are toxic. Transferring the toxin through cow’s milk is a concern for humans, known as milk sickness.” July 7, 1965 On this day, The Vincennes Sun-Commercial out of Vincennes, Indiana, reported: It was about 140 years ago that…
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