Arctotheca calendula
Common name:
Capeweed, Daisy chains,
Palatability to Livestock:
Variable.
Toxicity to Goats:
Low risk toxicity.
Toxicity to Other Species:
Potentially toxic to sheep, cattle, pigs and
horses.
Poisonous Principle:
Nitrates.
Effects:
Signs and symptoms;
Respiratory distress, gasping, rapid .
breathing,
.Tremors, staggering, and collapse .
.The gums may darken .
.Scouring and enteritis in pigs .
Health and Production Problems;
Affected animals may be just found dead, or .
die very quickly. Some may recover.
.Hairballs from seeds and buds can kill sheep .
.Can cause hay-fever in humans .
This plant may contribute to “Australian .
Stringhalt” in horses.
.May cause off-flavours in milk .
Comments:
An annual or biennial, flat, rosette weed, a .
stemless plant with a large taproot.
Leaves are serrated and deeply lobed, with a .
white mat of hair on the lower surface.
,Flowers are single and yellow on long stalks .
with brown marks at the base of the petals,
fading as they age, flowering in the spring.
The plant establishes in autumn, with the .
main growth during winter and spring.
.It can withstand frost and drought .
Goats may eat this plant at all stages, from .
before flowering, through to the dried off
stage.
The woolly seeds and flower buds may cause .
hairballs in sheep.
The plant may cause a taint in meat and milk .
products.
A native of South Africa, found in all .
Australian states, particularly in temperate
regions.
Treatment;
.See Vet, treat as for nitrate poisoning .
Integrated Control Strategy:
.Try goats .
Selective broadleaf herbicides, (Group C or .
I), Glyphosate®, Trifluralin® or Oryzalin®.
Soil compaction from machinery may .
encourage growth of this weed.
Often grows in magnesium deficient soils, so .
dolomite may help.
.Declared “Noxious” in Tasmania