All of::"and"

  Any of::"or"

 None of::"not"

   Limit:
150
10
20
30
40
50
75
100
150
200
250
300
   Help  Menu  Keywords  Lexicon
Fuzzy Spelling

KINGSLEY
Plants of the United States and Canada. R581.69 K55
Stipa robusta Scribn. (= S. vaseyi Scribn.). Sleepygrass
DESCRIPTION: Stout, perennial grass, forming erect clumps mostly 2 to 4 feet tall. Leaves flat 5/16 inch wide, up to 2 feet long. Inflorescence a green or greenish-yellow terminal panicle, to 1 foot long; branches several at each node, variable in length, bearing several spikelets, strongly directed upward, hence panicle compact and narrow; spikelets narrow, about 1/2 inch long, tipped by a long, dry, twisted awn; awns about 1 inch long.
DISTRIBUTION AND HABITAT: Dry plains, hills, and open woods, Colorado to Texas, Arizona and Mexico.
POISONOUS PRINCIPLE. Unknown. Some attempts to extract the active principle have been reported [922].
TOXICITY, SYMPTOMS AND LESIONS. Reports of the toxicity of sleepygrass to horses in New Mexico date back to 1887. Ingestion of a moderate amount produces a profound, but not lethal, somnolent or stuporous condition sometimes lasting several days. In times when the horse was the principal means of travel, serious delay and inconvenience occasionally befell those unaware of the danger in this plant [55,69,735].
Following a number of field reports and correspondence concerning the toxicity of sleepygrass to horses, the United States Department of Agriculture undertook feeding experiments at the Salina (Utah) experiment station and in the field [998]. It was found that 0.6 per cent of an animal's weight of plant (green-weight basis) was the least toxic dose for the horse and produced transitory depression or drowsiness. One percent was the average effective single dose. Larger amounts provokes somewhat, but not proportionately, greater symptoms. Symptoms appear in 6 to 24 hours and lasted 24 to 48 hours. Field cases have been reported in which as much as a week elapsed before all signs of poisoning had disappeared. Great variation in degree of sleepiness was found. Mildly poisoned animals were dejected, inactive and withdrawn. With greater dose animals became somnolent, presenting symptoms of drooping head, closed eyes, and irregularity of gait if forced to move. Severely poisoned animals lie on the sternum or flat on the side with head resting on the ground. These horses are in profound slumber from which they can be raised only momentarily with great difficulty. In such animals the pulse and respiration become weak and irregular. A definite rise in temperature has been recorded in many instances.
Despite field reports of toxicity to cattle, doses of active material up to 3.4 percent of an animal's weight in a single day failed to bring out symptoms. In sheep, doses of about 2 percent of an animal's weight provoked depression and a rise in temperature, but not sleepiness.
CONDITIONS OF POISONING: Reports of poisoning have come from only a portion of the area in which Stipa robusta is found, namely the Sacramento and Sierra Blanca Mountains of New Mexico. Material collected from several other areas failed to bring on poisoning although given in more than adequate amount in feeding experiments [998]. The plant retains full toxicity on drying. Sleepygrass was readily and repeatedly taken by horses during feeding experiments, bit it is generally believed among ranchers that horses once poisoned will refuse subsequently to graze the plant.

NEEDLEGRASS. STIPA

There are some 15 species of Stipa in California, known variously as porcupine grass, bear grass, spear grass, feather grass, and sleepy grass, most of which are of considerable forage value. They are tufted perennials with inrolled leaf blades. Some of the species, when mature, have grains with hard sharp points which penetrate the membranes and skins of animals.

SLEEPY GRASS (Stipa robusta Scribn.)

A characteristic feature is the awn of the lemma, which is twisted below, abruptly bent, usually persistent on the grain, and quite long. The spikelets are 1-flowered; when the grain, which is commonly long and slender, is mature it has a bearded sharp-pointed callus at the base. The glumes are membranelike, usually long and narrow.

Sleepy grass is said to act as a narcotic on animals, especially horses, that graze upon it.

EthnobotDB--worldwide plant uses is a searchable ethnobotany database at the National Agricultural Library. * is a wildcard only at the end of a word (e.g., hell* matches hello) xx yy means xx or yy xx and yy means xx and yy, both must be present for a "hit" xx not yy means xx must be present, but not yy

Ethnobotanical Plants and Topics of Interest:AcaciaAcorusalterantAnadenantheraaphrodisiacArgyreiaAriocarpusArundoBanisteriopsisBrugmansiaCathaCannabisColeusDaturaDesmanthusDesmodeumGalangahallucinogenintoxicantIpomoeaLophophoranarcoticNymphaeaPassifloraPeganumPhalarisPhragmitesPsychotriapsychedelicpsychotropicreligionSalviaSophoraStipaTagetesTetrapterisTrichocereusTurbinaRiveaUgnadiaVirola

The National Plants Database at the US Dept. of Agriculture includes information about wetlands, threatened/endangered and economically important plants. Scientific NameCommon NameFamilyGenus (Wild cards are * for multiple characters and _ for single characters.) Genera of Interest: AcaciaAnadenantheraArgyreiaArundoBanisteriopsisBrugmansiaCathaCannabisDaturaDesmanthusIpomoeaLophophoraPassifloraPeganumPhalarisPhragmitesPsychotriaSalviaStipaTetrapterisTrichocereusTurbinaRiveaVirola Species of Interest: Anadenanthera peregrinaArgyreia nervosaArundo donaxBanisteriopsis *Banisteriopsis caapiCannabis *Catha edulisDatura *Datura stramoniumDatura wrightiiDesmanthus *Desmanthus illinoensisDesmodeum pulchellumLespedeza bicolorLophophora williamsiiPassiflora *Passiflora incarnataPeganum *Peganum harmalaPhalaris arundinaceaPhalaris tuberosaPsychotria *Psychotria nervosaIpomoea tricolorIpomoea violaceaPhragmites *Phragmites australisTetrapteris *TrichocereusTurbina corymbosaSalvia divinorumStipa robustaVirola *Virola theiodora