UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
DEPARTMENT BULLETIN No. 1376 
Washington, D. C. ▼ February, 1926 
NUTTALL'S DEATH CAMAS (ZYGADENUS NUTTALLH) AS A POISONOUS 
PLANT 
By C. Dwight Marsh, Associate Physiologist in Charge of Investigations of 
Stock Poisoning by Plants; A. B. Clawson, Associate Physiologist, and Glen- 
wood C. Roe, Junior Physiologist, Pathological Division, Bureau of Animal 
Industry 
CONTENTS 
Introduction 1 
Description of the plant 2 
Experimental work 3 
Typical case of sheep 741 6 
Typical case of cattle 997 6 
Results of experimental work and conclusions. 7 
Symptoms 7 
Time between feeding of plant and de 
Page j Page 
Results of experimental work and conclu- 
sions—Continued . 
Autopsy findings 10 
Toxic and lethal dosage 11 
Comparative toxicity of parts of the 
plant 12 
Animals susceptible to poisoning.. 12 
Probability of death of livestock 12 
velopment of symptoms 8 | Remedial measures 12 
Duration of sickness 9 I Summary... 13 
INTRODUCTION 
In March, 1922, Dr. L. J. Allen, of the Bureau of Animal Industry, 
inspector in charge at Oklahoma City, Okla., sent to the bureau a 
specimen of a plant collected by Doctor Hiatt of his force in Osage 
County, Okla. Doctor Hiatt had been told that this plant was 
killing cattle in certain pastures in that county. It was stated also 
that the plant was not distributed very generally, but grew in patches, 
and that the stockmen desired to know what it was and what meas- 
ures could be taken for protection. 
The plant was identified as Zygadenus nuttallii by W. W. Eggles- 
ton, of the Bureau of Plant Industry. 
In April of that year the senior author, with Doctor Hiatt, visited 
the locality near Pawhuska, where the plant was supposed to cause 
the trouble, and it was found growing in considerable abundance in 
some localities. Inquiry among the stockmen of the neighborhood 
showed that there was a general belief that this plant was the cause 
of rather heavy losses of cattle. It was stated that symptoms 
appeared in 24 hours after eating it, and that generally speaking the 
poisoned animals either died or recovered in from 18 to 36 hours, 
although some continued to be sick from 2 to 3 days to as much as 
3 weeks. One man stated that a single mouthful would make a 
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