160 



VETERINARY TOXICOLOGY 



Fig. 6. — Lolium Pbbenne 

 (Perennial Eye-Grass). 



(From Smith's ' Veterinary 

 Hygiene.') 



Perenne. — Outer glume 

 shorter than the spikelet. 

 Awns short or none.* 



L. temulentum is not very 

 common in Great Britain, 

 but is found in South Africa, 

 where it is known as ' drabok,' 

 cheat, or bearded darnel, and 

 is an introduced plant specially 

 abundant in the Pacific slope. 

 The poisonous properties are 

 confined to the grains, which 

 have a yellowish-green colour, 

 in distinction to the violet 

 seeds of bromus. The flour 

 is colourless and tasteless, 

 and the starch grains have a 

 dimension of 4 to 8 ju,. 



Accidents due to Lolium 

 temulentum commonly arise 

 from the admixture of the 

 grains with barley or other 

 cereals, or from the addition 

 of the flour to ordinary flour. 



The detection of L. temu- 

 lentum flour in the ordinary 

 material may be effected by 

 means of a microscopic 

 examination of the starch 

 granules ; ether extracts an 

 olive-coloured fat, which may 

 be shown to be poisonous on 

 a small animal; or, a flour, 

 shaken with alcohol, will give 

 a yellowish-green colour if 

 L. temulentum is present in 

 important amounts. 



* Bentham and ^ooker, ' British 

 Flora,' 1908, p. 530. 



