Wild mustard
General poisoning notes:
Wild mustard (Sinapis arvensis) is a naturalized herb found in fields and waste places across Canada. Cattle have been poisoned after ingesting hay containing large quantities of wild mustard seed. This plant contains glucosinolates. See the general notes under Brassicaoleracea, which further explain the poisoning potential of plants that contain these chemicals.
Description:
Sinapis arvensis reaches on average 20–80 centimetres (7.9–31 in) of height, but under optimal conditions can exceed one meter. The stems are erect, branched and striated, with coarse spreading hairs especially near the base.
The leaves are petiolate with a length of 1–4 centimetres (0.39–1.6 in). The basal leaves are oblong, oval, lanceolate, lyrate, pinnatifid to dentate, 4–18 centimetres (1.6–7.1 in) long, 2–5 centimetres (0.79–2.0 in) wide. The cauline leaves are much reduced and are short petiolate to sessile but not auriculate-clasping.
The inflorescence is a raceme made up of yellow flowers having four petals. The fruit is a silique 3-5 cm long with a beak 1-2 cm long that is flattened-quadrangular. The valves of the silique are glabrous or rarely bristly, three to five nerved. The seeds are smooth 1-1.5 mm in diameter.
Flowering occurs from May to September. The flowers are pollinated by various bees and flies (entomophily). Sinapis arvensis is the host plant of the caterpillars of some Lepidoptera, such as the Small White (Pieris rapae). It contains chemicals of the class glucosinolates, including sinalbin.
Sinapis arvensis L.
Nomenclature:
Scientific Name: Sinapis arvensis L.
Vernacular name(s): wild mustard
Scientific family name: Cruciferae
Vernacular family name: mustard
Geographic Information:
Alberta, British Columbia, Labrador, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Saskatchewan, Quebec, Yukon Territory.
Toxic parts:
Seeds, leaves.
Toxic plant chemicals:
Glucosinolates.
Glucosinolates
Chemical diagram(s) are courtesy of Ruth McDiarmid, Biochemistry Technician, Kamloops Range Station, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Kamploops, British Columbia, Canada.
Animals/Human Poisoning:
Note: When an animal is listed without additional information, the literature (as of 1993) contained no detailed explanation.
Cattle
General symptoms of poisoning:
Collapse, ait, staggering, death.
Notes on poisoning:
Cattle have been poisoned in Canada after ingesting hay containing large quantities of wild mustard seed. The cattle first produced excessive saliva, after which they staggered, collapsed, and died (Gwatkin and Moynihan 1943).
