Dear Roger,

Thank you for reaching out to the UVM Extension Master Gardener Program with your question.

It is difficult to make a definite identification of your plant from the pictures. The leaves and flowers do look like poison hemlock. The fact that the flowers are present in May would be consistent with poison hemlock. I cannot see evidence of purple spotting on the stem which would be characteristic of poison hemlock. There is a lot of surrounding vegetation in the photos so it is difficult to determine the height of the plants in the photo. Poison hemlock can be 2-10 feet tall.

I have included several resources to help you determine if your plant is poison hemlock. If in reviewing the enclosed information you do not feel that you can make a definitive identification you could submit additional photos for review without some of the surrounding vegetation but that include a close up of the stem of the plant and details of the leaves.

https://extension.umd.edu/resource/poison-hemlock-identification-and-management/

https://extension.umn.edu/identify-invasive-species/poison-hemlock

https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/poison-hemlock-identification-and-control

https://extension.psu.edu/poison-hemlock-identification

https://extension.psu.edu/is-it-poison-hemlock-or-wild-chervil

Remember that if this is poison hemlock that all parts of the plant are poisonous so you should wear gloves when handling the plant material.

Dear Roger,

Thank you for providing additional photos. In reviewing the photos I can see that the stem of the plant in question is green and ribbed with fine hairs. The leaves are fern-like. On one of your original photos I can see the elongated green fruits. I think that all of these characteristic are consistent with Wild Chervil (Anthriscus sylvestris) which is listed on the Vermont Invasives website. (Poison Hemlock is not listed on the Vermont Invasives website.) The timing of flowering and the plant height are also consistent with Wild Chervil. Maps on the iNaturalist website show more sightings of Wild Chervil than Poison Hemlock in Vermont. The Penn State Extension link has a nice discussion on identifying Wild Chervil vs Poison Hemlock. See the Vermont Invasives website for information on Wild Chervil management. The Wild Chervil plant contains toxins that can cause skin irritation so wear gloves and cover your skin when working on removing these plants.

https://extension.psu.edu/is-it-poison-hemlock-or-wild-chervil

https://www.vtinvasives.org/invasive/wild-chervil