Plants Poisonous to Livestock
(Table 1.)
| Plant |
Conditions of Poisoning |
Habitat |
Animals |
| Brackenfern |
All season and when dried in hay |
Dry, poor soil, open woods, pastures and sandy ridges. Found in northern half of Minnesota. |
All grazing animals |
| Symptoms of Poisoning |
|---|
| Cattle, accumulative poisoning over at least 1 month. Clots of blood in feces, swelling of throat region in young animals. Causes aplastic anemia. Unthriftiness, weight loss and weakness. Horses, loss of appetite, "star-gazing" Vitamin B1 deficiency. |
| Plant |
Conditions of Poisoning |
Habitat |
Animals |
Buttercups
Smallflower buttercup
Tall buttercup |
Early spring and summer. Not toxic when dried in hay. |
Pastures, meadows, streams, and wastelands. Mostly found in the northern half of Minnesota. |
All animals, especially cattle |
| Symptoms of Poisoning |
|---|
| Leaves cause skin blistering minutes to a few hours after eating. Burning irritation in mouth and throat, followed by increased salivation, redness and blistering of the mouth and throat. Swallowing causes abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhea. Large amounts cause dizziness, delirium, tremors and convulsions. May also cause kidney damage, excessive urine production, blood in urine followed by a decrease in urine flow. Lactating cattle suffer a drop in milk production and milk is bitter and red tinted. Sheep may collapse suddenly. Pigs may show paralysis. Toxin is an acrid yellow oil, protoanemonin, which can be driven off with drying, such as when cured for hay. |
| Plant |
Conditions of Poisoning |
Habitat |
Animals |
| Butterfly Milkweed |
Spring |
Dry open areas, waste places, prairies, abandoned roads and streambeds. Found throughout Minnesota. |
All grazing animals |
| Symptoms of Poisoning |
|---|
| Loss of muscle control, spasms, bloating, increased pulse rate, weak rapid breathing, fever, coma, and death. Symptoms occur within one to two days after eating. Toxin is a resinoid, galitoxin. Also contains glucosides and alkaloids. |
| Plant |
Conditions of Poisoning |
Habitat |
Animals |
| Chokecherry |
All season leaves, bark and seeds. |
Along streams and open forests, waste areas, fence rows, woods, prairies, orchards and dry slopes. Found throughout Minnesota. |
All grazing animals |
|---|
| Symptoms of Poisoning |
|---|
| Slobbering, muscle tremors, increased respiration rate, rapid and weak, pulse, convulsions, labored breathing, abdominal pain, depression, paralysis, coma and death. Symptoms noticed in 30 minutes to 1 hour. Caused by glycoside amygdalin which upon hydrolysis yields HCN. |
| Plant |
Conditions of Poisoning |
Habitat |
Animals |
|---|
| Cocklebur |
Spring as seedlings, especially 2-leaf (cotyledon) stage. |
Lowlands, barnyards, fields, roadsides, poor pastures, wastelands, exposed shores of lakes, ponds and rivers. Found throughout Minnesota. |
All animals, especially hogs & cattle |
|---|
| Symptoms of Poisoning |
|---|
| Loss of appetite, depression, uncoordination, twitching, paralysis. Seedlings have caused death in pigs. Caused by hydroquinone. Symptoms noticed a few hours to 2 days after eating. Death may occur in 3 days. |
| Plant |
Conditions of Poisoning |
Habitat |
Animals |
| Hoary Alyssum |
All season and when dried in hay. |
Meadows, pastures, hay fields waste places, particularly on sandy soils. Found throughout Minnesota. |
Horses |
|---|
| Symptoms of Poisoning |
|---|
| Horses experience depression and "stocking up" or swelling of the lower legs, 12 to 24 hours after eating. A fever and occasional short term diarrhea may also occur. Symptoms normally subside 2 to 4 days after feed removal. Potential for problems increase when hay or feed contains more than 30% hoary alyssum. Cattle and sheep may reject eating feed containing hoary alyssum. |
| Plant |
Conditions of Poisoning |
Habitat |
Animals |
|---|
| Horsetail |
Spring, summer and when abundant in hay. |
Damp, wet places, roadsides, fields, waste places. Sandy, gravelly soils. Found throughout Minnesota. |
Sheep
Cattle
Horses |
|---|
| Symptoms of Poisoning |
|---|
| Loss of condition, excitability, unthriftiness, staggering gait, rapid pulse, difficult breathing, diarrhea and emaciation. Death preceded by convulsions and coma. Deceased milk production in cows. Trembling in sheep. Poisoning accumulative over one month. |
| Plant |
Conditions of Poisoning |
Habitat |
Animals |
| Nightshade family |
Summer and fall. Unripe berries especially poisonous. |
Crop fields, waste places, fence rows, yards, gardens and open woods. Grows well on loamy or gravelly soils. Found throughout Minnesota. |
All animals |
|---|
| Symptoms of Poisoning |
|---|
| Weakness, trembling, labored breathing, nausea, constipation or diarrhea, death. First symptoms may be paralysis of tongue and dilated pupils. Symptoms occur within a few hours or up to 1 to 2 days after eating. Toxin is glycoalkaloids. |
| Plant |
Conditions of Poisoning |
Habitat |
Animals |
|---|
| Nitrate accumulators |
Especially a problem when plants are grown under drought stress and high N fertility. |
Pigweeds, lambsquarters, corn, sorghums, and other grasses. |
All grazing animals |
|---|
| Symptoms of Poisoning |
|---|
| Increased salivation, labored breathing, incoordination, weak pulse,
muscle tremors, vomiting, diarrhea, suffocation, death. Symptoms 2 to 6 hours after eating. |
| Plant |
Conditions of Poisoning |
Habitat |
Animals |
| Oaks |
Summer and fall. Unripe berries especially poisonous. Bud and leafing out stage. Young oak and sprouts. Declines as leaves mature. Acorns. |
In most deciduous woods. Found throughout Minnesota. |
All grazing animals |
|---|
| Symptoms of Poisoning |
|---|
| Loss of appetite, constipation, dry muzzle, black, pelleted feces followed by diarrhea with blood and mucus. Frequent urination, weak, rapid pulse. Death may occur a few days to 2 weeks after symptoms start. Caused by gallotannins. |
| Plant |
Conditions of Poisoning |
Habitat |
Animals |
|---|
| Poison Hemlock |
All parts, all season and when dried in hay. Seeds especially poisonous. |
Wet, disturbed ground like ditches and field edges. Warm sites, stream edges and gardens. Found throughout Minnesota. |
All animals |
|---|
| Symptoms of Poisoning |
|---|
| Loss of appetite, salivation, bloating, feeble pulse, paralysis, birth defects. Temporary stimulation of nervous system, followed by general depression of the nervous system. Similar symptoms as spotted water hemlock, no convulsions. Death painful because victim remains conscious. Symptoms occur in minutes to a few hours after eating. Death occurs as soon as 15 minutes up to 8 hours after eating. Toxin is a group of nicotine-like alkaloids; most important is coline. |
| Plant |
Conditions of Poisoning |
Habitat |
Animals |
| Spotted Water Hemlock |
All parts poisonous, especially roots. Roots can poison drinking water. All season and when dried in hay. |
Damp, open habitats, ditches, wet meadows, swamps, lowlands and streams. Found throughout Minnesota. |
All animals, especially swine |
|---|
| Symptoms of Poisoning |
|---|
| Burning sensation in mouth a few minutes to a few hours after eating. Difficulty in swallowing, foaming at the mouth, excessive salivation, dilation of the pupils. Internal symptoms—nausea, diaphragm contractions, vomiting, diarrhea, violent convulsions. Affects nervous system, resulting in nervousness, muscle twitching, violent teeth clenching, slowing of the heart, weak pulse, visual disturbances, heart failure, loss of consciousness and death. Occurs in 15 minutes to 1 hour. Poison is an unsaturated alcohol, cicutoxin. A piece the size of a walnut can kill a cow. |
| Plant |
Conditions of Poisoning |
Habitat |
Animals |
|---|
| White Snakeroot |
All season and when dried in hay. |
Shaded areas, woods, clearings, hardwood pastures and waste places. Moist and fertile soils. Found throughout Minnesota. |
All grazing animals |
|---|
| Symptoms of Poisoning |
|---|
| Plant contains tremetone, which causes depression, labored breathing,
tremors, nausea and death. Milk sickness in cattle. Tremetol may be transmitted through the milk and butterfat to humans and other animals, causing milk sickness in them. Causes trembles in sheep. Onset of symptoms noticed 2 to 3 days after eating. |
Produced by Communication and Educational Technology Services, University of
Minnesota Extension.
In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, this material is available in alternative formats upon request. Please contact your University of Minnesota Extension office or the Distribution Center at (800) 876-8636.
University of Minnesota Extension is committed to the policy that all persons shall have equal access to its programs, facilities, and employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, age, marital status, disability, public assistance status, veteran status, or sexual orientation.
|
