Locoweed
Overview
Common name
A common name of a taxon or organism is a name in general use within a community; it is often contrasted with the scientific name for the same organism...
in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
for any plant that produces swainsonine
Swainsonine
Swainsonine is an indolizine alkaloid. It is a potent inhibitor of Golgi alpha-mannosidase II, an immunomodulator, and a potential chemotherapy drug...
, a phytotoxin
Phytotoxin
Phytotoxin refers to a substance produced by a plant that is toxic or a substance that is toxic to the plant Many substances produced by plants are secondary metabolites and are the by-products of primary physiological processes...
harmful to livestock
Livestock
Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...
. Worldwide, swainsonine is produced by a small number of species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
, most in three genera
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of the flowering plant family Fabaceae
Fabaceae
The Fabaceae or Leguminosae, commonly known as the legume, pea, or bean family, is a large and economically important family of flowering plants. The group is the third largest land plant family, behind only the Orchidaceae and Asteraceae, with 730 genera and over 19,400 species...
: Oxytropis
Oxytropis
Oxytropis is a genus of plants in the legume family. It is one of two genera of plants known as locoweeds, and are notorious for being toxic to grazing animals. The other locoweed genus is the closely related Astragalus. There are about 300 species native to Eurasia and North America. Several...
and Astragalus
Astragalus
Astragalus is a large genus of about 3,000 species of herbs and small shrubs, belonging to the legume family Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae. The genus is native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere...
in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, and Swainsona
Swainsona
Swainsona is a large genus of flowering plants native to Australasia. There are 85 species, all but one of which is endemic to Australia; the exception, S...
in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. The term locoweed usually refers only to the North American species of Oxytropis and Astragalus, but this article includes the other species as well.
Locoweed is relatively palatable to livestock, and some individual animals will seek it out.
