Stagger-grass

[Guest Thelema]

anyone know anything about this? its a prominent west australian weed?

I have a feeling its gramine-related.

[Auxin]

Commonly called fly poison or Amianthium muscaetoxicum. Considered poisonous to humans (and most other things).

Couldn't find out the alkaloids in it, but they don't sound like somethin' you'd want to ingest.

[Happy Cadaver]

sounds like Phalaris. causes the staggers in sheep when they eat a fair bit of it. due to the alkaoids present (DMT, etc).

[Guest reville]

In WA 'stagger grass' is Phalaris

we have many things to make you stagger

Gastrolobium and oxylobium chock full of fluoroacetate

Swainsonia to make granules in your nerve cells

Cycads to destroy your liver

Phalaris is a pasture grass

The most common here is P aquatica which may also be refferred to as P tuberosa

(Why 'tuberosa'?)

It conatins 5 or more alkaloids including

DMT, 5MeODMT,Bufotenine, Gramine and a beta carboline

What causes toxicity seems confusing.

While DMT will kill sheep its not a straight forward issue as the beta carbolines may have MAOi activity and this means that the other substances may be potentiated ,as well as the theory that MAOi inhibition somehow causes increases in blood level or tyramine derivatives which are acutely toxic

Its all pretty complex. If you are really inetersted and would like to do a review of Phalaris 'Up to date' i can definietly find refernces for you. As Phalaris grows well across southern australia a lot of work has been done here decipheroing toxicity and breeding low alkaloid varieties.

If harvesting Phalaris look for helathy stands in areas where ther should be grazing pressure. I ve seen pictures of sheep completerl bypassing high alkaloid stands in order to get to the low alkaloid strains

The AFSR has the variets 'Australia' and 'AQ1" if youd like to grow it out www.shaman-australis.com/seedring