Wormseed mustard
General poisoning notes:
Wormseed mustard (Erysimum
cheiranthoides) is a naturalized herb found across Canada in fields and
waste places. It contains large quantities of glucosinolates, which release
allylisothiocyanate upon hydrolysis. Cattle and swine were poisoned in Canada
when feeds were contaminated with sufficient quantities of seed from wormseed
mustard plants (Kingsbury 1964, Palechek 1986).
Description:
Herbs annual,
(7-)15-100(-150) cm tall. Trichomes primarily 3- or 4-fid, sometimes mixed with
5-fid ones, malpighiaceous trichomes primarily on stem and pedicels. Stems
erect, often branched above, ribbed. Basal leaves rosulate, withered by
fruiting. Middle and upper cauline leaves shortly petiolate or sessile; leaf
blade lanceolate, linear, or elliptic-oblong, (1-)2-7(-11) cm × (2-)5-10(-20)
mm, base cuneate, margin subentire or denticulate, rarely sinuate-dentate, apex
acute or obtuse. Racemes corymbose, densely flowered, ebracteate, elongated
considerably in fruit. Fruiting pedicels divaricate or ascending, 5-13(-16) mm,
slender, much narrower than fruit. Sepals oblong, 1.8-3 × 0.5-1 mm, not
saccate. Petals yellow, narrowly spatulate, 3-5 × 1.5-2 mm, apex rounded; claw
distinct, subequaling sepals. Filaments yellow, 2-3.5 mm; anthers oblong,
0.5-0.7 mm. Ovules (20-)30-55 per ovary. Fruit linear, 4-angled,
(1-)1.5-2.5(-4) cm × 1-1.3 mm, somewhat torulose, suberect or
divaricate-ascending, straight; valves with a distinct midvein, outside with
3-5-forked trichomes, inside densely pubescent; style slender, 0.5-1.5 mm,
cylindric; stigma slightly 2-lobed. Seeds oblong, 1-1.5 × 0.4-0.6 mm. Fl.
May-Aug, fr. Jun-Sep. 2n = 16.
Nomenclature:
Scientific Name: Erysimum cheiranthoides L.
Vernacular
name(s): wormseed mustard, 小花糖芥, xiao hua tang
jie
Synonyms: Erysimum brevifolium
Z. X. An; E. cheiranthoides var. japonicum H. Boissieu; E.
japonicum (H. Boissieu) Makino; E. parviflorum Persoon.
Scientific family
name: Cruciferae
Vernacular family
name: mustard
Geographic Information:
Alberta, British Columbia,
Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Prince
Edward Island, Quebec, Ontario, Saskatchewan, Yukon Territory.
Toxic parts:
Seeds.
Toxic plant chemicals:
Glucosinolates
Chemical
diagram(s) are courtesy of Ruth McDiarmid, Biochemistry Technician, Kamloops
Range Station, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Kamploops, British Columbia,
Canada.
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:
Colic,
depression.
Swine
General symptoms of
poisoning:
Death.
Notes on poisoning:
Swine died after ingesting
food that contained 1.7% seeds of the plant by weight (Kingsbury 1964).
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