flypoison, Amianthium muscitoxicum

Flypoison is exactly that. Treatments of this plant, particularly the root, were mixed with sweeteners. That was then used to attract and kill flies and other pests. Poisonous plants have often used for medicine, but flypoison seems to have been too toxic. The Cherokee did use it externally as a "severe" relief from itching. These flowers are about a third of an inch, in a spike a few inches tall. Flypoison grows in AL, AR, DE, FL, GA, KY(T), LA, MD, MO, MS, NC, NJ, NY, OK, PA, SC, TN, VA, and WV. Dolly Sods Wilderness, Pendleton Co WV, 7/16/15. Bunchflower family, Melanthiaceae.