Skeleton weed
Lygodesmia juncea (Pursh) D. Don ex Hook.
other common names: rush skeleton plant, skeleton plant, prairie pink
Lygodesmia: from Greek lygos, meaning “a pliant twig,” and desme, meaning “a bundle,” from the fascicled twiglike appearance of the plant
Juncea: meaning stiff, like a rush
Daisy family: Asteraceae (Compositae)
Photograph by Thomas Rosburg, Wildflowers of the Tallgrass Prairie: The Upper Midwest, Second Edition
Is this plant poisonous to cattle?
ReplyDeleteFrom Wildflowers of the Tallgrass Prairie: The Upper Midwest, Second Edition :
ReplyDeleteSince the herbage is distasteful to range animals, the palatability of skeleton weed is low, but in dry regions sheep will graze it. In some areas it has been suspected of being poisonous.