POISONING FROM FLOWERS 



Fig. 16i. Wild Barley {Hordeum jubatum). b. Wild Barley (H. nodosum), cause of 

 mechanical injuries to animals. 



Similar and allied species in other parts of the world are known to be injuri- 

 ous in the same way. Other plants are injurious by means of their sharp-point- 

 ed fruit. Among those of the last named type are members of the Geranium fam- 

 ily notably the Stork's bill (Brodium cicutarium), common in the west, which fre- 

 quently gets into the wool of sheep and may produce local irritation. Mechanical 

 injuries are also produced by the Sand Bur {Cenchrus tribuloides) whose spiny 

 involucre may work into the flesh of animals and induce an irritation followed by 

 inflammation, and the formation of pus. Hogs and cattle often receive mechan- 

 ical injuries from the Cocklebur {Xanthium canadense) and allied species. 



A recent number of Horticulture (Jan. 1, 1910)^ notes that rose thorns have 

 caused the poisoning of the hands of clerks who handle the roses. 



Prof. J. Davy states that in South Africa the burrs of a clover Trifolmm 

 terrestris var hispidissimus are said to injure young lambs. 



The Burdock (Lappa major) sometimes produces no little irritation, and the 

 ^ame may be said of the Spanish Needle {Bidens frondosa). The sharp, stiff 



