Wright State University associate professor of emergency medicine Dr. B. Patrick Murray on Saturday said a good way to tell them apart is Poison hemlock is tall (six to 10 feet at maturity) while Queen Anne’s lace is small (one to two feet). Poison hemlock has green and hollow stems, while wild carrots have fine hairs on the leaves and solid green stems.
One “thing you can see is that she didn’t want to shave her legs, so she’s got hairs all along her stem,” he said, pointing to a photo of Queen Anne’s lace. “That’s another tell-tale sign that this is a wild carrot that’s safe to eat.”
Murray said Socrates famously chose to kill himself by drinking a cup containing Poison hemlock.
Murray explained the visual differences between multiple innocuous and hazardous plants and fungi in a talk during the Adventure Summit at WSU student union. He was one of more than 35 speakers who led educational presentations or demonstrations or regaled audiences with colorful and dramatic stories about some of the adventures that they’ve had and that are out there waiting to be experienced. Thousands of people attended the biennial event.
From the sessions, it was very clear that there are lots of outdoor experiences here in Ohio, not far from residents’ doorsteps. But other speakers talked about their travels far and wide, to famous and beautiful locations, but also to remote and formidable destinations, parks and trails. Presenters included local and national hikers, mountaineers, nature lovers, conversationists, kayakers, weekend warriors and subject matter experts.
Visitors and families came to learn, try out new things, check out vendors, take part in workshops, buy outdoor gear and taste free beer samples and listen to music.
Since Five Rivers MetroParks was one of the sponsors (along with WSU and Wagner Subaru), it was only fitting that the event had two special ambassadors: “Juniper,” the Eastern screech owl and “Eragon,” a red-tailed hawk.
A fun fact that visitors got to learn: screech owls don’t actually hoot. Instead, they make high-pitched whinny sounds, like a horse call, said Tamilee Holbrook, a volunteer with Five Rivers MetroParks.
Juniper and Eragon were a big hit with families, especially young kids. Holbrook said she hopes that events like the Adventure Summit specifically will help encourage young people to put down their screens and go out and explore and enjoy nature and all it has to offer.
