Apparently it is indeed referring to hemlock (Oenanthe crocata):
Contains oenanthotoxin. The leaves may be eaten safely by livestock, but the stems and especially the carbohydrate-rich roots are much more poisonous. Animals familiar with eating the leaves may eat the roots when these are exposed during ditch clearance – one root is sufficient to kill a cow, and human fatalities are also known in these circumstances. Scientists at the University of Eastern Piedmont in Italy claimed to have identified this as the plant responsible for producing the sardonic grin, and it is the most-likely candidate for the “sardonic herb”, which was a neurotoxic plant used for the ritual killing of elderly people in Phoenician Sardinia. When these people were unable to support themselves, they were intoxicated with this herb and then dropped from a high rock or beaten to death. Criminals were also executed in this way.
Holy fuck, Sardinia. Being dropped from a great height or beaten to death by people I held as babies while tripping sounds like one of the worst ways to go.
flora_explora@beehaw.org 2 months ago
Apparently it is indeed referring to hemlock (Oenanthe crocata):
(From Wiki page on poisonous plants)
But the main wiki page on Oenanthe crocata doesn’t even mention this.
idiomaddict@feddit.de 2 months ago
Holy fuck, Sardinia. Being dropped from a great height or beaten to death by people I held as babies while tripping sounds like one of the worst ways to go.
flora_explora@beehaw.org 2 months ago
Sounds like the movie Midsommar may have taken some inspiration from it haha