What Are The Purple Flowers Covering Louisiana Fields?

Have you seen the beautiful purple flowers that are sprouting up all over Louisiana fields and alongside the highways? Are they even flowers or something more dangerous?  We have all the details.

This plant may look like a flower, however, it's a weed and it's can be dangerous when ingested by animals.

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The weed is called Henbit. It grows in fields and alongside roadways in Louisiana. It make look beautiful, but it could cause "staggers" in grazing animals, which can be a serious condition that could lead to death if not treated.

What are Staggers?

According to Towcester-vets.co.uk:

Staggers is caused by low blood concentration of magnesium and affects both sheep and cattle. It is most commonly seen in adult lactating animals grazing lush, fast-growing grass pasture but we do see a number of cases in housed animals every year.

 

Henbit is not poisonous to humans, however, if you have allergies you will want to avoid picking or being in contact with this weed because it produces pollen and nectar.

What are the symptoms of stagger in sheep and cows?

• Sudden death
• Initial excitability with high head carriage, twitching of muscles and incoordination
• Separation from the group. Animals may have startled expressions, exaggerated blink reflex and frequent tooth grinding
• Rapid progression to periods of seizure activity

Henbit starts to grow and bloom in early spring around March.  The weed usually doesn't last too long, the majority of them are tilled up in farmers' fields across the state.