Editing Conium (section)

=== History ===

Conium was known to ancient Greeks, who used it for its narcotic properties and in capital punishment. It was used for the execution, among others, of [[Socrates]] and [[Theramenes]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Burrows |first1=George E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cqwvrIfINWgC&pg=PA67 |title=Toxic Plants of North America |last2=Tyrl |first2=Ronald J. |date=2013-01-29 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-0-8138-2034-7 |language=en}}</ref>

''Conium maculatum'', also known as poison hemlock, was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1753 publication, [[Species Plantarum]]. It was the first described species within the genus. "Maculatum" means spotted, referencing the purple blotches characteristic of this species.<ref name=":3" />

''Conium chaerophylloides'' was described by Danish plant collector [[Christian Friedrich Ecklon]] (1795–1868) and German botanist [[Karl Ludwig Philipp Zeyher]]. In 1828, they came together in South Africa, forming a partnership. For the next decade, they built their collection, describing almost 2000 genera and species.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Östensson|first=Pia|title=Christian Friedrich Ecklon and Karl Ludwig Philipp Zeyher|url=https://www.nrm.se/en/forskningochsamlingar/botanik/botaniskhistoria/error.13420.html|access-date=2020-12-03|website=www.nrm.se|language=en}}</ref>

Both ''C. fontanum'' and ''C. sphaerocarpum'' were described by South African botanist [[Olive Mary Hilliard]] and English botanist [[Brian Burtt|Brian Laurence Burtt]]. Together, they published their classifications in the [[South African Journal of Botany]] in 1985.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Tropicos {{!}} Name - Conium fontanum Hilliard & B.L. Burtt|url=http://legacy.tropicos.org/name/100315049|access-date=2020-12-03|website=legacy.tropicos.org}}</ref>