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Species
Information
- Houndstongue
(gypsyflower)
- Cynoglossum
officinale L.
- USDA
Symbol: CYOF
- Oregon
Noxious Weed Designation: B
- Pictures
Identification:
Biennial; blooms June to August. Grows 1 to 4 ft tall; forms rosette first year and sends up flowering stalk second year. Leaves alternate, rough, hairy (resembling a hound’s tongue) and 1 to 12 inches long. Flowers reddish purple and terminal. Seeds nutlets.
Impacts:
Houndstongue may be found in pastures, along roadsides, and in disturbed habitats and timberland on the east side of the Cascades. Houndstongue nutlets are like natural velcro; they break apart at maturity and cling to clothing or animals. Houndstongue is toxic, containing pyrrolizidine alkaloids, causing liver cells to stop reproducing. Animals may survive six months or longer after they have consumed a lethal amount. Sheep are more resistant than cattle or horses.
Biological
Controls: No approved biological control agent is currently available. However, research is being conducted on five promising insects: a root weevil, a stem weevil, a seed weevil, a root beetle and a root fly.
Oregon
Maps of Houndstongue Distribution
Links:
USDA
Plants Database information on
houndstongue
GRIN
Database information on houndstongue
Oregon Department
of Agriculture information on houndstongue
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