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Description
Coffee senna is an erect, smooth, hairless, foul-smelling annual
growing 2 to 6 feet tall. Its ascending, branching stem has
spirally arranged compound leaves with four to six pairs of
leaflets. The leaflets are oval and lance shaped with pointed
tips. The linear seedpods are 4 to 6 inches long, tend to be
erect and contain numerous compressed, dull brown or dull green
seeds.
Distribution and habitat
Coffee senna is found in East and South Texas and extends
east to Florida and north to Virginia. It usually grows in
sandy or loamy disturbed soil, often in colonies around pens
or shade trees rather than uniformly distributed over a pasture.
Regions: 1, 2,
3, 4,
6, 7.
Toxic agent
Cattle, horses, goats and sheep have been poisoned by coffee
senna. The specific chemical responsible for the toxicity
is unknown, but it appears to be present throughout the plant.
Generally, the unpalatable green plants are not consumed;
the dried, mature seedpods are responsible for most poisonings,
which usually occur after frost. Plants that have dried after
being cut or pulled up have also poisoned cattle, and they
are the species most often poisoned in Texas.
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Livestock
signs
Clinical signs of affected ani-mals include:
• Diarrhea
• Weakness
• “Alert downers”—not depressed, will eat, but unable to
rise
• Dark urine
• Death
Once an animal is down, it generally will not recover, even
though it is bright-eyed and continues to eat and drink.
Integrated management strategies
The best prevention is to eliminate the plants from a pasture
to be used for cattle after frost. Mechanical removal (pulling)
is quite effective in many instances, as the plants are
often confined to small areas. When larger areas are involved,
use of pasture may need to be deferred.
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