Fiddleneck-Amsinckia intermedia Fisch & Mey.-Poisonous plant

Fiddleneck

General poisoning notes:

Fiddleneck (Amsinckia intermedia) is an introduced plant found in parts of western Canada. Ingestion can cause severe diseases in horses, swine, and cattle. Hepatic cirrhosis results from ingesting the seeds of the plant. The symptoms are termed walking disease in horses and are known as hard liver disease in swine and cattle. These diseases were present mainly in California and the Pacific Northwest. With the advent of herbicides, the problems have mostly disappeared (Woolsey et al. 1952, Cheeke and Schull 1985).

Nomenclature:

Scientific Name: Amsinckia intermedia Fisch & Mey.

Vernacular name(s): fiddleneck

Scientific family name: Boraginaceae

Vernacular family name: borage

Geographic Information

Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Yukon Territory.

Toxic parts:

Seeds

Notes on Toxic plant chemicals:

The pyrrolizidine alkaloids of fiddleneck cause hepatic cirrhosis in cattle, swine, and horses, mainly a result of the presence of the seeds in grain and grain screenings fed to livestock. With modern herbicides, the problem has disappeared (Cheeke and Schull 1985).

Toxic plant chemicals:

Echiumine, intermedine, lycopsamine.

Animals/Human Poisoning:

Note: When an animal is listed without additional information, the literature (as of 1993) contained no detailed explanation.

Cattle

General symptoms of poisoning:

Abdominal pains, death, icterus, liver, cirrhosis of

Horses

General symptoms of poisoning:

Death, hemoglobinuria, icterus, liver, cirrhosis of

Swine

General symptoms of poisoning:

Abdomen, distended, anemia, appetite, loss of, ascites, death, icterus, liver, cirrhosis of

prostration, weakness, weight gain, reduced, weight loss.