Planetagarden
- How do you identify locoweed?
- What is locoweed and how does it affect animals?
- Which flowering annual is commonly referred to as locoweed?
- Is locoweed toxic to humans?
- Is locoweed poisonous to humans?
- How does locoweed keep from poisoning itself?
How do you identify locoweed?
Identifying Locoweed
The leaves are pinnate and terminate in smaller leaflets. Locoweed is a perennial herb with legume pods and pea-like flowers. The plants are most toxic when they are young. By the end of summer, they have turned brown and are dying back and becoming twiggy.
What is locoweed and how does it affect animals?
Locoweed has four principal effects on livestock. These are: (1) neurological damage; (2) emaciation; (3) reproductive dysfunction and abortion; and (4) congestive right heart failure when grazed at high elevations.
Which flowering annual is commonly referred to as locoweed?
Some species of Astragalus (milkvetch) are also referred to as locoweed.
Is locoweed toxic to humans?
Yet relatively few cases exist of locoweed poisoning in humans. ... Livestock that overdose on locoweed can eventually starve to death or become so weak they make easy prey for predators. Although some of the toxic effects resolve after animals are removed from infested areas, the neurological damage may be permanent.
Is locoweed poisonous to humans?
Also referred to as “loco weed” or “stink weed,” Jimson weed is as poisonous to animals as it is humans. Though the entire plant is toxic, kids generally ingest the seeds, which are contained in a prickly pouch that looks similar to the green casing of a buckeye.
How does locoweed keep from poisoning itself?
Locoweed is poisonous at all times, even when dried. Swainsonine, an indolizide alkaloid found in all parts of the plant, inhibits the enzyme alpha-mannosidase which is essential for normal sugar metabolism in cells.
