||Co*ni"um (? or &?;), n. [NL., fr.
Gr. &?; hemlock.] 1. (Bot.) A genus
of biennial, poisonous, white-flowered, umbelliferous plants,
bearing ribbed fruit ("seeds") and decompound leaves.
2. (Med.) The common hemlock
(Conium maculatum, poison hemlock, spotted hemlock, poison
parsley), a roadside weed of Europe, Asia, and America,
cultivated in the United States for medicinal purpose. It is an
active poison. The leaves and fruit are used in
medicine.