Jimsonweed
Latin Name: Datura stramonium
Identifying Characteristics:
- Quickest identifier is to rub the leaves with your hand, then smell your hand (Jimsonweed has a unique scent)
- Leaves are typically 3-8 inches long, smooth, toothed, soft, and irregularly wavy
- Stem is strong, erect, smooth, and pale yellow-green to reddish purple in color
- Can grow up to 5 ft tall
- The flowers are tubular and white or violet
- The fruit is a capsule that has prickles covering it
Plant Longevity:
- Annual
Where Commonly Found:
- Fertile soils where other plants are scarce
- Pastures
- Wood lines
- Waste areas
Time of Most Concern:
- During entire growth cycle, with seeds being most poisonous
Compound that Causes Concern:
- Hyoscyamine – an isomer of atropine (an isomer is a molecule that is transformed into another molecule that has exactly the same atoms, but the atoms are rearranged)
- L-hyoscine – epoxidized hyoscyamine (an epoxide is a cyclic ether, where the ether forms a three-atom ring: two atoms of carbon and one atom of oxygen)
Part of Plant Most Toxic:
- Entire plant is toxic; seeds most often implicated
Livestock Species Affected:
- Cattle
- Sheep
- Goats
- Swine
Pasture, Stored Feed, Both:
- Both
Clinical Signs:
- Hypothermia
- Increased pulse and respiration
- In some cases, as pulse increases, respiration can decrease
- Depression
- Weakness
- Tremors
- Recumbency
- Increased thirst
- Increased urination
- Digestive issues
- Diarrhea
- Weight loss
- Nausea
- Dilated pupils
Amount Needed to be Consumed for Clinical Signs / Death:
- Pigs appear to be very sensitive to seeds; .000035 oz - .000043 oz per lb body weight reported to cause toxic signs
- That equates to 0.007 oz in a 200 lb hog
- Toxic signs seen in cattle consuming seeds at 0.06-0.09% of body weight/day
- That equates to 0.6-0.9 lbs in a 1,000 lb cow
Identifying Characteristics:
- Quickest identifier is to rub the leaves with your hand, then smell your hand (Jimsonweed has a unique scent)
- Leaves are typically 3-8 inches long, smooth, toothed, soft, and irregularly wavy
- Stem is strong, erect, smooth, and pale yellow-green to reddish purple in color
- Can grow up to 5 ft tall
- The flowers are tubular and white or violet
- The fruit is a capsule that has prickles covering it
Plant Longevity:
- Annual
Where Commonly Found:
- Fertile soils where other plants are scarce
- Pastures
- Wood lines
- Waste areas
Time of Most Concern:
- During entire growth cycle, with seeds being most poisonous
Compound that Causes Concern:
- Hyoscyamine – an isomer of atropine (an isomer is a molecule that is transformed into another molecule that has exactly the same atoms, but the atoms are rearranged)
- L-hyoscine – epoxidized hyoscyamine (an epoxide is a cyclic ether, where the ether forms a three-atom ring: two atoms of carbon and one atom of oxygen)
Part of Plant Most Toxic:
- Entire plant is toxic; seeds most often implicated
Livestock Species Affected:
- Cattle
- Sheep
- Goats
- Swine
Pasture, Stored Feed, Both:
- Both
Clinical Signs:
- Hypothermia
- Increased pulse and respiration
- In some cases, as pulse increases, respiration can decrease
- Depression
- Weakness
- Tremors
- Recumbency
- Increased thirst
- Increased urination
- Digestive issues
- Diarrhea
- Weight loss
- Nausea
- Dilated pupils
Amount Needed to be Consumed for Clinical Signs / Death:
- Pigs appear to be very sensitive to seeds; .000035 oz - .000043 oz per lb body weight reported to cause toxic signs
- That equates to 0.007 oz in a 200 lb hog
- Toxic signs seen in cattle consuming seeds at 0.06-0.09% of body weight/day
- That equates to 0.6-0.9 lbs in a 1,000 lb cow
https://www.extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/WS/WS_37_ToxicPlants08.pdf
Beasely et al. Notes for Toxicology VB 320: A systems approach to veterinary toxicology. University of Illinois. 1994