Rules of thumb to minimise the risk of plant poisoning
While the risk of livestock falling ill or dying from eating toxic plants can never be totally removed, there are some steps we can take to minimise the chances.
Be aware of circumstances of little choice
When pasture supply is adequate, poisonous plants are generally not a problem as they are mostly not palatable. Problems occur when stock are forced to eat poisonous plants in instances of overgrazing, containment in stockyards, holding paddocks or stock routes and when country is recovering from drought or flood. Unfortunately, many plants that may cause toxicity are quicker to return than perennial grasses after drought and flood.
Preventing colonisation
Poisonous plants typically colonise bare and disturbed areas well. Good grazing management that maintains stands of preferred pasture species is the best prevention.
Naïve or hungry stock
Avoiding toxic plants is thought to be a learned behaviour amongst livestock that have been born and bred in a certain area. As such, newly introduced cattle or young stock tend to be more prone to plant toxins.
Never introduce hungry livestock to areas where poisonous plants are known to be growing. If yards are infested with weeds and potentially poisonous plants, make sure animals are either full or have access to a safe roughage (grass hay). A large mob may be used to trample infestations in. Likewise, before turning animals out of the yards onto lush herbage again fill them up with roughage or tail them out to areas of high grass content.
Where can I find more information?
Should you wish to learn more about toxic plants in Australia, the e-book Australia’s Poisonous Plants, Fungi and Cyanobacteria by Ross McKenzie, is well worth having. It can be purchased at CSIRO Publishing. An online copy can be found here: Australia’s Poisonous Plants, Fungi and Cyanobacteria.
Identification of unknown plant species
If you are keen to identify a certain plant on your property, photograph it and contact your local extension officer.
Sometimes identification features require microscopic examination, so a sample is necessary.
Hints on how to collect and press specimens and where to send them for identification are available at: Botanical specimens for identification
The Weed Spotter App allows you to email photographs of plants to the Queensland Herbarium for identification.
Contact your relevant state or territory herbarium before submitting samples to ensure you have the information required:
Resources we have found particularly helpful:
- Australia’s poisonous plants, fungi and cyanobacteria (2020), by Ross McKenzie (ebook)
- Atlas of living Australia (website)
- Poisonous plants of Australia (1974), by Selwyn L Everist (book)
The articles regarding poisonous plants, and minimising the risk of poisoning from plants, has been compiled by Byrony Daniels, Linda Dunbar, Melissah Dayman and Jodie Ward from the Queensland Department of Primary Industries.
Find out more about common poisonous plants in northern Australia: