General poisoning notes:

Golden-bean (Thermopsis rhombifolia) is a native plant that is found in the southern part of western Canada. This plant has been suspected since the late 1800s to be poisonous to cattle and horses, but conclusive evidence is lacking in the literature. The related plant, poison-bean (Thermopsis montana), causes poisoning in cattle. Poison-bean contains several quinolizidine alkaloids, and similar chemicals may be found in golden-bean. Ingesting seeds of golden-bean was suspected in a case of poisoning of a child in western Canada. Until more definitive studies appear in the literature, the plant is included in this Information System because of its potential for poisoning (Kingsbury 1964, Keeler et al. 1986).

References:

Keeler, R. F., Johnson, A. E., Chase, R. L. 1986. Toxicity of Thermopsis montana in cattle. Cornell Vet., 76: 115-127.

Kingsbury, J. M. 1964. Poisonous plants of the United States and Canada. Prentice-Hall Inc., Englewood Cliffs, N.J., USA. 626 pp.

Nomenclature:

Scientific Name: Thermopsis rhombifolia (Nutt.) Richards.
 

Vernacular name(s): golden-bean

Scientific family name: Leguminosae

Vernacular family name: pea

Go to ITIS*^ca for more taxonomic information on: Thermopsis rhombifolia

References:

Agriculture Quebec. 1975. Noms des maladies des plantes du Canada/ Names of plant diseases in Canada. , Quebec City, Que., Canada. 288 pp.

Alex, J. F., Cayouette, R., Mulligan, G. A. 1980. Common and botanical names of weeds in Canada/Noms populaire et scientifiques des plantes nuisibles du Canada. Revised. Agric. Can. Publ., Ottawa, Ont., Canada. 132 pp.

Bailey, L. H., Bailey, E. Z. 1976. Hortus third. Revised. MacMillan, New York, N.Y., USA. 1290 pp.

Scoggan, H. J. 1978, 1979. The flora of Canada. Nat. Mus. Nat. Sci. (Ottawa) Publ. Bot. 7(1)-7(4). 1711 pp.

Van Wijk, H. L. 1911. A dictionary of plant names. Martinus Nijhoff, The Hague, The Netherlands. 1444 pp.

Victorin, M. 1964. Flore Laurentienne. 2nd ed. Univ. Montreal, Montreal, Que., Canada. 952 pp.

Geographic Information

Alberta
British Columbia
Manitoba
Saskatchewan
 

References:

Bailey, L. H., Bailey, E. Z. 1976. Hortus third. Revised. MacMillan, New York, N.Y., USA. 1290 pp.

Boivin, B. 1966, 1967. Énumération des plantes du Canada. Provencheria 6. Nat. Can. (Que.) 93: 253-274; 371-437; 583-646; 989-1063. 94: 131-157; 471-528; 625-655.

Image or illustration

golden-bean:

Images: images.google.com

Toxic parts:

leaves
seeds
 

References:

Keeler, R. F., Johnson, A. E., Chase, R. L. 1986. Toxicity of Thermopsis montana in cattle. Cornell Vet., 76: 115-127.

Notes on Toxic plant chemicals:

The chemicals listed here are found in the closely related poison-bean (Thermopsis montana), although similar chemicals are found in golden-bean (Keeler et al. 1986). Some of these chemicals are found in other members of the pea family, including anagyrine, which causes teratogenic effects in cattle that eat lupines containing this chemical.

Toxic plant chemicals:

anagyrine
cytisine
N-methylcytisine
thermopsine
 

References:

Keeler, R. F., Johnson, A. E., Chase, R. L. 1986. Toxicity of Thermopsis montana in cattle. Cornell Vet., 76: 115-127.

Animals/Human Poisoning:

Note: When an animal is listed without additional information, the literature (as of 1993) contained no detailed explanation.

Cattle

General symptoms of poisoning:

appetite, loss of
death
depression
 

References:

Keeler, R. F., Johnson, A. E., Chase, R. L. 1986. Toxicity of Thermopsis montana in cattle. Cornell Vet., 76: 115-127.

Horses

Humans