Re: Locoweed is Jimsonweed

["guest@endurance.net" <guest@endurance.net>]

Donna Dochterman dokadaarabians@earthlink.net
Hi Bette,

That was by no means intended to be an exhaustive list of the poisonous plants called by the common name of locoweed.  You may be thinking of a  Lathyrus spp.  http://cal.vet.upenn.edu/poison/ppstslsweet.htm  While I, myself, have not heard them called locoweed, they are toxic and it would not surprise me to hear that term used for them. The flowering annual known as sweetpea is one of this species (Lathyrus odoratus).  I believe horses are more susceptible to poisoning from this plant than most other species. 

Oxytropis sericea is another highly toxic plant that I know is known by the common name of locoweed.  Picture at http://www.lib.ksu.edu/wildflower/whitelocoweed.html  Oxytropis spp. causes the same symptoms as Astragalus spp. as it contains the same toxic chemical.  I was guilty of guessing that the plant Anne was looking for was Astragalus mollissimus simply because locoweed is the only common name I have heard applied to that plant.  Obviously, that is not necessarily the one she is looking for.  I bet there are a wide variety of plants around this country someone, somewhere calls locoweed.

Donna Dochterman
Dokada Arabians
http://members.tripod.com/~DokadaArabians/index.html

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