Hi All, i have just pruchaes a new property, we have worked hard eradicating weeds like pattersons curse, capeweed and lupins, but we also have these 2 weeds growing which i need to ID to see if I need to do anything ablout them too. I think the second one is commonly called milkweed?(nb We have horses). Thanks for you help! Kind regards Julei K.
The first looks like a vetch, Vicia sativa; the second a mouse-eared chickweed, Cerastium sp. If present in large quantities in pasture, vetches can pose some danger of HCN (cyanide) poisoning to livestock as they may contain a cyanogenetic glycoside. They have also been implicated in cases of lathyrism. I suspect poisonings happen only rarely, despite vetches being very common weeds. The mouse-eared chickweed is a winter-spring annual which will soon disappear. I can't find a reference to it being poisonous.
thanks so much for your information, on a few days off atm - now that I know what it is I can research what I can do about it. It is only in patches at present but I suspect removing the other weeds has given it a chance to spread more quickly. thanks again:) Julie K.
