Officials in Flagler County, Florida, are warning that an invasive plant called creeping indigo, which is poisonous to horses and other grazing livestock, has been identified in that county.
The plant was introduced into Florida in 1925 as a potential forage species because it is in the same family as alfalfa, clover, and peanuts. Concerns about toxicosis, however, were evident by the 1930s and using it for forage was abandoned.
The plant has since expanded its growing area northward from Key West into central and north Florida. Flagler County has an Invasive exotic control program and officials are working to significantly reduce its presence on public lands.
“We are getting better at identifying it,” said Mark Warren, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Extension agent in Flagler and Putnam counties. “We want people to know what to look for.”
The plants grow like groundcover and have pink- to coral-colored flowers arranged in clusters with leaves that have six to eight small clover-like leaflets per leaf unit.
“The plant can be showy looking, but detection can be difficult when in areas where it either mixes with other grasses and plants,” Warren said. “Livestock owners should learn to identify and manage pastures to reduce risks associated with creeping indigo.
Source : TheHorse