Elderberry flowers and Poison Hemlock

A nature note:  two different plants are in bloom here now.  They both have an umbel shaped white flower head.  One smells heavenly and makes a delicious cordial.  The other's leaves smell like mice and all parts of it are a deadly poison.  If a person is careful ir's fairly easy to differentiate them.  Elderberry trees aren't very big for a tree but do have woody stems.  Poison Hemlock is a tall biannual plant w/ a pecular reddish tone to it's stems.  My Wicket Plants book tells the tale of a man who died from eating a salad made by someone who couldn't tell the difference between the lacy foliage of parsley and hemlock.  It's most famous victim was Socrates.  He was condemned by an Athenian jury of the crime of corrupting the minds of the youth and not believing in the gods of the state.  He was given a tea made from hemlock which carried out his death sentence.  On the other hand Prince Harry & Megan Markle's wedding cake was flavored w/ lemon and elderflowers.  A tea made from elderflowers is suppose to help when arthritis pains worsen in cold weather.  It is a useful (and often necessary) thing to know the plants that grow in your backyard.