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