Clinical hypocalcaemia associated with Yarr (Spergula arvensis) ingestion

Abstract

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Spergula arvensis (Spurrey, known locally as Yarr) is a fine- stemmed, viscid, erect or sprawling annual up to 30cm tall, with small white flowers and narrow, needle-shaped leaves in whorls at each stem node. It is a common weed of recently cultivated pastures. We have found no record of toxicity associated with ingestion of this plant, apart from a suggestion of illness when fed to caged birds (Roy et al., 1998). One of the authors (JDH) can recall a calcium-responsive recumbency in a small number of ewes grazing a poorly established swede crop in summer in which Yarr was the predominant green feed available.