Amianthium is a genus of perennialmonocot plants found in eastern North America. The genus contains only one species, known as Amianthium muscitoxicum. Its common names include "fly poison" and "stagger grass". The species name muscitoxicum comes from a direct Latin translation of "fly poison": muscae = flies, toxicum = poison. The entire plant is poisonous to an array of species, including humans, and the bulb is particularly toxic. A. muscitoxicum was first recorded by Thomas Walter in his work Flora Caroliniana in 1788.
Description
The indeterminate, bracteate raceme of A. muscitoxicum.
Amianthium muscitoxicum blooms between May and July with small white flowers that turn greenish or purplish with age. Its flowers form an indeterminate bracteate racemeinflorescence. It blooms from the bottom of the inflorescence upwards, eventually forming small, bright orange fruits in the late summer or fall.
A. muscitoxicum can grow 1–4 feet tall. Its main leaves are at the base of the plant; they are thin and can grow more than 12in long. It also has leaves along the length of the stem, but they are very reduced.
Amianthium muscitoxicum is self-incompatible and is mainly pollinated by five species of beetle, predominantly Strangalepta abbreviata. These beetles are rewarded by nectar produced within each flower, with beetles spending significantly more time at flowers with higher nectar volumes.
A. muscitoxicum exhibits partial dichogamy, meaning there is a separation in the timing of male and female reproductive function. Specifically, it is protandrous, which means that the pollen is produced before the stigma becomes receptive to other pollen. Nectar production varies with the sexual phase of each flower, accumulating through the lifecycle and peaking just after anthesis, when the flower blooms and is functional. This species has a high potential for multiple mating, which generally increases fitness due to greater genetic diversity of seeds and a higher likelihood of a compatible cross.
Toxicity
Amianthium muscitoxicum contains toxic alkaloids, and as such, is highly poisonous when ingested by livestock, humans and other animals. Four toxic alkaloids were isolated from the plant in 1953: jervine, two unknown ester alkaloids, and amianthine (an alkamine). These compounds are found in all parts of the plant, with especially high concentrations in the bulbs.
Historical experiments tested the toxicity on sheep and cattle. Observed symptoms included cessation of eating and excess production of saliva, nausea followed by vomiting, rapid pulse, rapid and irregular respiration, weakness, and difficulty walking. When fatal, death occurred in about an hour. This is the origin for "stagger grass" as a common name for this plant.
Uses
Amianthium muscitoxicum's common name "fly poison," comes from its use by early colonists as a way to control flies. The bulbs can be ground down and mixed with something sweet, such as molasses or honey, to attract flies. When flies drink it, they become unstable and have difficulty moving. After 24 hours or so, if the flies have not been removed, the poison will wear and off and they are seemingly fine.
Classification
Amianthium muscitoxicum is a member of the family Melanthiaceae and the tribe Melanthieae. Melanthieae contains seven genera, including Melanthium and Amianthium. A. muscitoxicum, sometimes spelled muscaetoxicum, was first classified in the genus Melanthium by Thomas Walter in 1788. More recent molecular and genetic research has firmly classified it in the genus Amianthium, which is characterized by a unique alkaloid that it contains: amianthine. A. muscitoxicum is the only species within this genus. (See also Phylogeny of Melanthieae.)
Amianthium species which have been placed in other genera include:
Amianthium angustifoliumA.Gray now called Stenanthium densum(Desr.) Zomlefer & Judd
Amianthium aspericauleA.Gray) now called Triantha glutinosa(Michx.) Baker
Amianthium leimanthoidesA.Gray) now called Stenanthium densum(Desr.) Zomlefer & Judd
123Palmer, Mary; Travis, Joseph; Antonovics, Janis (1989-02-01). "Temporal mechanisms influencing gender expression and pollen flow within a self-incompatible perennial, Amianthium muscaetoxicum (Liliaceae)". Oecologia. 78 (2): 231–236. Bibcode:1989Oecol..78..231P. doi:10.1007/BF00377160. ISSN1432-1939. PMID28312363.
1234Wasowski, Sally; Wasowski, Andy (2020). Gardening with native plants of the South (Reviseded.). Guilford, Connecticut: Lyons Press. ISBN978-1-4930-3880-0.
↑Zomlefer, Wendy B.; Judd, Walter S. (Summer 2002). "Resurrection of Segregates of the Polyphyletic Genus Zigadenus s.l. (Liliales: Melanthiaceae) and Resulting New Combinations". Novon. 12 (2): 299. Bibcode:2002Novon..12..299Z. doi:10.2307/3392971. JSTOR3392971.
Citations
↑Illustration from Britton & Brown's An illustrated flora of the northern United States, Canada and the British Possessions. (1913) as Chrosperma muscitoxicum
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