LEGUMINOSAE (PULSE FAMILY) 239 



a rounded, yellowish white standard tinged with purple, a rosy pink 

 keel, and reddish purple wings ; the standard is softly hairy on 

 the back. Pods one or two inches in length, flattened, often 

 somewhat curved, densely hairy, and many-seeded. Wild turkeys 

 are said to search for and fatten on the peas, though the plant 

 has the reputation of being poisonous. The Indians used its 

 string-like rootstocks for a vermifuge, and Pammel 1 states that it 

 was used also for poisoning fish. 



Means of control 



Prevent seed production and starve the rootstocks by cutting 

 the stems close to the ground in early summer. Cultivate and 

 enrich the soil. 



WOOLLY LOCO-WEED 



Astrdgalus mollisimus, Torr. 



Other English names: Crazyweed, Purple Loco, Stemmed Loco, 



Texas Loco. 



Native. Perennial. Propagates by seeds. 

 Time of bloom: April in the southern limit of its range, to June at 



the northern limit. 

 Seed-time: June to August. 

 Range: South Dakota and Wyoming, southward to Texas, New 



Mexico, and Arizona. Most abundant in Colorado and western 



Kansas and Nebraska. 

 Habitat : Open prairies ; lower mountain slopes ; wild meadows. 



The Loco-weed Disease in horses, cattle, and sheep is every year 

 the cause of enormous losses to persons engaged in the business of 

 raising live-stock in many of the Western States. The symptoms 

 indicate much cerebral disturbance and affected animals are 

 commonly said to be crazy. There are a number of plants that 

 cause the disease, all of them Legumes and nearly related ; but this 

 and the following species range most widely and are credited with 

 the greatest amount of injury to the stock-raising industry. Horses 

 and sheep are the chief sufferers from the poison, though cattle also 

 are frequently "locoed." 



Woolly Loco has a large, tough, woody, deep-boring root, some- 

 times penetrating to a depth of six or more feet, from the crown of 

 which spring tufts of short, branching stems, a foot or less long, some 

 1 Manual of Poisonous Plants, page 558. 



