Wormseed mustard
General poisoning notes:
Wormseed mustard (Erysimum cheiranthoides) is a naturalized herb found across Canada in fields and waste places. It contains large quantities of glucosinolates, which release allylisothiocyanate upon hydrolysis. Cattle and swine were poisoned in Canada when feeds were contaminated with sufficient quantities of seed from wormseed mustard plants (Kingsbury 1964, Palechek 1986).
Description:
Herbs annual, (7-)15-100(-150) cm tall. Trichomes primarily 3- or 4-fid, sometimes mixed with 5-fid ones, malpighiaceous trichomes primarily on stem and pedicels. Stems erect, often branched above, ribbed. Basal leaves rosulate, withered by fruiting. Middle and upper cauline leaves shortly petiolate or sessile; leaf blade lanceolate, linear, or elliptic-oblong, (1-)2-7(-11) cm × (2-)5-10(-20) mm, base cuneate, margin subentire or denticulate, rarely sinuate-dentate, apex acute or obtuse. Racemes corymbose, densely flowered, ebracteate, elongated considerably in fruit. Fruiting pedicels divaricate or ascending, 5-13(-16) mm, slender, much narrower than fruit. Sepals oblong, 1.8-3 × 0.5-1 mm, not saccate. Petals yellow, narrowly spatulate, 3-5 × 1.5-2 mm, apex rounded; claw distinct, subequaling sepals. Filaments yellow, 2-3.5 mm; anthers oblong, 0.5-0.7 mm. Ovules (20-)30-55 per ovary. Fruit linear, 4-angled, (1-)1.5-2.5(-4) cm × 1-1.3 mm, somewhat torulose, suberect or divaricate-ascending, straight; valves with a distinct midvein, outside with 3-5-forked trichomes, inside densely pubescent; style slender, 0.5-1.5 mm, cylindric; stigma slightly 2-lobed. Seeds oblong, 1-1.5 × 0.4-0.6 mm. Fl. May-Aug, fr. Jun-Sep. 2n = 16.
Erysimum cheiranthoides L.
Nomenclature:
Scientific Name: Erysimum cheiranthoides L.
Vernacular name(s): wormseed mustard, 小花糖芥, xiao hua tang jie
Synonyms: Erysimum brevifoliumZ. X. An; E. cheiranthoides var. japonicum H. Boissieu; E. japonicum (H. Boissieu) Makino; E. parviflorum Persoon.
Scientific family name: Cruciferae
Vernacular family name: mustard
Geographic Information:
Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Ontario, Saskatchewan, Yukon Territory.
Toxic parts:
Seeds.
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:
Colic, depression.
Swine
General symptoms of poisoning:
Death.
Notes on poisoning:
Swine died after ingesting food that contained 1.7% seeds of the plant by weight (Kingsbury 1964).
