General poisoning notes:

Ground-ivy (Glechoma hederacea) is a creeping ground cover that can grow abundantly in uncultivated damp or shaded ground around houses and garden areas. This plant contains an irritant oil that is toxic to horses if they ingest large quantities of the fresh or dried plant. In one case in Canada the death of horses was reported (Fyles 1920, Fuller and McClintock 1986).

References:

Fuller, T. C., McClintock, E. 1986. Poisonous plants of California. Univ. California Press, Berkeley, Calif., USA. 432 pp.

Fyles, F. 1920. Principal poisonous plants of Canada. Can. Dep. Agric. Exp. Farms. Bull. 39. 112 pp.

Nomenclature:

Scientific Name: Glechoma hederacea L.
 

Vernacular name(s): ground-ivy

Scientific family name: Labiatae

Vernacular family name: mint

Go to ITIS*^ca for more taxonomic information on: Glechoma hederacea

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
New Brunswick
Newfoundland
Nova Scotia
Ontario
Prince Edward Island
Quebec
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

ground-ivy:

Images: images.google.com

Toxic parts:

leaves
stems
 

References:

Fyles, F. 1920. Principal poisonous plants of Canada. Can. Dep. Agric. Exp. Farms. Bull. 39. 112 pp.

Toxic plant chemicals:

unknown chemical
 

References:

Fyles, F. 1920. Principal poisonous plants of Canada. Can. Dep. Agric. Exp. Farms. Bull. 39. 112 pp.

Animals/Human Poisoning:

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

Horses

General symptoms of poisoning:

cyanosis
dyspnea
lungs, congestion of
pupil dilation
salivation
sweating
 

Notes on poisoning:

In Prince Edward Island two horses ingested large quantities of ground-ivy in November when the ivy provided an abundance of green foliage. The horses panted continually and died within a a week. One horse would lie down and the other horse would not. In Europe, horses have been reported to ingest large amounts of fresh or dried ground-ivy, with subsequent poisoning. Apparently, cattle and sheep were not poisoned after they ingested the plant (Fyles 1920).

References:

Fyles, F. 1920. Principal poisonous plants of Canada. Can. Dep. Agric. Exp. Farms. Bull. 39. 112 pp.