144 STOCK-POISONING PLANTS OF MONTANA. 



which was in bud. The succulent stem was especially well liked. At 

 the end of seven hours it was calculated that 36 grams had been eaten. 

 No bad results followed, but the animal was at times a little more 

 drowsy than several others were. It was in good condition on the 

 following morning. 



The succulent stem of this plant is greatly relished before flowering 

 time by the Indians of Round Valley, California. Before eating it, 

 however, the more pungent skin is removed. The taste is then agree- 

 ably aromatic. 



FALSE MALLOW. 



{Malvastrum coccineum A. Gray.) 



A tufted hoary perennial, 2 to 8 inches high, with numerous 5-parted 

 leaves and racemes of showy brick-red flowers, which blossom in May 

 and June (PI. VI). This plant is very abundant on dry prairies, espe- 

 cially on poor soil, near Craig, Augusta, Choteau, Great Falls, Fort 

 Benton, Utica, Lewiston, Martinsdale, Helena, Bozeman, and Living- 

 ston. The species grows on plains from Colorado to British America 

 and eastward to Iowa and Minnesota. 



The plant is not well in blossom near Bozeman until after the first 

 of June. It is extremely abundant on some dry hillside pastures 

 which are much used for grazing sheep, where, before flowering, the 

 leaves may easily be mistaken for those of the purple larkspur. The 

 latter, however, may at once be distinguished by the absence of 

 stellate hairs. 



The plant was at one time suspected in another State of being the 

 cause of a certain case of poisoning, but the accusation was after- 

 wards retracted, although the cause of death was never established. 

 The leaves have no bad taste, but they are so densely covered with 

 minute star-shaped clusters of rather rigid hairs that it seems possible 

 that they might cause some physical ill effect on the digestive tract. 

 The hairs are not without effect on the tongue when the leaves are 

 chewed, and the fresh nonflowering plants were wholly rejected by a 

 stable horse, to which they were offered. As a matter of fact, how- 

 ever, the plant, although it does not appear attractive as forage, is 

 eaten extensively by sheep in several parts of the State. On a sheep 

 range near Craig there are large areas which are occupied exclusively 

 by the false mallow. It was noticed that sheep had a decided liking 

 for the plant, and grazed upon such areas as long as any of this plant 

 could be found. Similar conditions were observed lu other parts of 

 the State. A number of sheep raisers have noticed sheep eating this 

 plant, and have, in one or two instances, suspected it of being poison- 

 ous. These suspicions are probably unfounded, since, as already indi- 

 cated, the plant is eaten extensively by sheep in some localities without 

 untoward results. 



