oenanthe crocata

Oenanthe crocata, the hemlock water-dropwort, is a flowering plant in the carrot family, Apiaceae. Scientists at the University of Eastern Piedmont in Italy wrote that they had identified Oenanthe crocata as the plant responsible for producing the sardonic grin. This plant is a possible candidate for the 'sardonic herb', which was is a neurotoxic plant referred to in ancient histories. It was purportedly used for the ritual killing of elderly people and criminals in Nuragic Sardinia, in which they ...