Flypoison (Amianthium muscitoxicum)

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Amianthium is a genus of perennial monocot plants found in North America.[1] The genus contains only one species, known as Amianthium muscitoxicum.[2] Common names for A. muscitoxicum include "fly poison" (which comes from its historical use as a fly poison) and "stagger grass" (which describes cattle behavior after ingesting it).[3] The species name muscitoxicum comes from a direct translation of "fly poison" in Latin: muscae = flies, toxicum = poison.[4] The entire plant is poisonous to an array of species, including humans, and the bulb is particularly toxic.[3][5] A. muscitoxicum was first recorded by Thomas Walter in his work Flora Caroliniana in 1788.[6]

Description

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Fly poison
in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Apparently Secure  (NatureServe)[7]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Liliales
Family: Melanthiaceae
Tribe: Melanthieae
Genus: Amianthium
A.Gray
Species:
A. muscitoxicum
Binomial name
Amianthium muscitoxicum
(Walter) A.Gray
Synonyms[10]
Synonymy
  • Amianthium muscaetoxicum, common misspelling[8][9]
  • Melanthium muscaetoxicum Walter
  • Melanthium muscitoxicum Walter
  • Zigadenus muscitoxicum (Walter) Regel
  • Chrosperma muscitoxicum (Walter) Kuntze
  • Chrysosperma muscatoxicum (Walter) Kuntze
  • Melanthium laetum Aiton.
  • Anthericum subtrigynum Jacq.
  • Melanthium myoctonum J.F.Gmel.
  • Melanthium phalangioides Desr.
  • Helonias erythrosperma Michx.
  • Helonias laeta (Aiton) Ker Gawl.
  • Leimanthium laetum (Aiton) Willd.
  • Leimanthium pallidum Willd.
  • Chrosperma laetum (Aiton) Raf.
  • Amianthium macrotox Raf.
  • Crosperma laeta (Aiton) Raf.
  • Crosperma phalangioides (Desr.) Raf.

Amianthium muscitoxicum blooms between May and July with small white flowers that turn greenish or purplish with age.[4] Its flowers form an indeterminate bracteate raeceme inflorescence.[11] It blooms from the bottom of the inflorescence up, eventually forming small, bright orange fruits in the late summer or fall.[12]

A. muscitoxicum can grow 1-4 feet tall.[4] Its main leaves are at the base of the plant; they are thin and can grow more than 12in long.[4] It also has leaves along the length of the stem, but they are very reduced.[4]

1913 Illustration of Amianthium muscitoxicum [Image 1]

Uses

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Amianthium muscitoxicum's common name "fly poison," comes from its use by early colonists as a way to control flies.[12] The bulbs are ground down and mixed with something sweet, such as molasses or honey, to attract flies.[13] When the flies drink it, they become unstable and have difficulty moving.[13] After 24 hours or so, if the flies have not been removed, the poison will wear and off and they are seemingly fine.[13]

Toxicity

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Amianthium muscitoxicum contains toxic alkaloids, and as such, is highly poisonous when ingested to livestock, humans and other animals.[3] Four toxic alkaloids, which are similar to neurotoxins,[3] have been isolated from the plant: jervine, two unknown ester alkaloids, and amianthine.[14] These alkaloids are found in all parts of the plant, with especially high concentration in the bulbs.[5]

Historical experiments tested the toxicity on sheep and cattle.[13] 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.[13] When fatal, death occurred in about an hour.[13]

Habitat and Distribution

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Amianthium muscitoxicum is native to the eastern United States from New York to Florida and can be found as far west as Missouri and Oklahoma.[1] Its native habitats include oak forests, bogs, low pinelands, savannas, meadows, and sandhills.[3]

It does best in partial shade, with 1-2 hours of direct sunlight.[12] Its companion plants: longleaf pine, willow oak, mountain laurel, blueberries, galax, heartleaf, foamflowers, smilacina, Soloman's seal, dwarf iris, jack-in-the-pulpit, black cohosh, grasses.[12]

Mating and Sexual Systems

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Amianthium muscitoxicum is self-incompatible and is mainly pollinated by five species beetles.[15] It exhibits partially dichogamy, meaning there is a separation in the timing of male and female reproductive function.[11] Specifically, A. muscitoxicum is protandrous, which means that the pollen is produced before the stigma becomes receptive to other pollen.[11] 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.[16]

Classification

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Amianthium muscitoxicum is a member of the family Melanthiaceae and the tribe Melanthieae.[10] The tribe Melanthieae contains seven genera, including Melanthium and Amianthium.[2] A. muscitoxicum, sometimes spelled muscaetoxicum,[4] was first classified in the genus Melanthium by Thomas Walter in 1788.[13] 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.[17] Amianthium muscitoxicum is the only species within this genus.[2] (See also Phylogeny of Melanthieae.)

Amianthium species which have been placed in other genera include:[10]

Reference

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  1. ^ a b "USDA Plants Database". plants.usda.gov. Retrieved 2025-11-19.
  2. ^ a b c Zomlefer, Wendy B.; Williams, Norris H.; Whitten, W. Mark; Judd, Walter S. (2001). "Generic circumscription and relationships in the tribe Melanthieae (Liliales, Melanthiaceae), with emphasis on Zigadenus: evidence from ITS and trnL-F sequence data". American Journal of Botany. 88 (9): 1657–1669. Bibcode:2001AmJB...88.1657Z. doi:10.2307/3558411. ISSN 1537-2197. JSTOR 3558411. PMID 21669700.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Amianthium muscitoxicum (Crow Poison, Fly Poison, Stagger Grass) | North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox". plants.ces.ncsu.edu. Retrieved 2025-11-19.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Adkins, Leonard M.; Cook, Joe; Sheppard, Monica (2017). Wildflowers of the Appalachian Trail (Third ed.). Birmingham, AL : Harpers Ferry, WV: Menasha Ridge Press ; Appalachian Trail Conservancy. ISBN 978-1-63404-090-7.
  5. ^ a b "Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center - The University of Texas at Austin". www.wildflower.org. Retrieved 2025-11-19.
  6. ^ Walter, Thomas; Walter, Thomas; Fraser, J.; Wenman, Joseph (1788). Flora caroliniana : secundum systema vegetabilium perillustris Linnaei digesta; characteres essentiales naturalesve et differentias veras exhibens; cum emendationibus numerosis: descriptionum antea evulgatarum: adumbrationes stirpium plus mille continens: necnon, generibus novis non paucis, speciebus plurimis novisq. ornata. Londini: Sumptibus J. Fraser Prostant venales apud J. Wenman, in Vico vulgo dicto Fleet-street.
  7. ^ NatureServe. "Amianthium muscitoxicum". NatureServe Explorer. Arlington, Virginia. Retrieved 9 November 2025.
  8. ^ Walter, Thomas 1788. Flora caroliniana : secundum systema vegetabilium perillustris Linnaei digesta; characteres essentiales naturalesve et differentias veras exhibens; cum emendationibus numerosis: descriptionum antea evulgatarum: adumbrationes stirpium plus mille continens: necnon, generibus novis non paucis, speciebus plurimis novisq. ornata 125 in Latin, as Melanthium muscaetoxicum
  9. ^ International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (Melbourne Code), section 60.8
  10. ^ a b c "WCSP". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. Retrieved 2013-02-03. (search on Amianthium)
  11. ^ a b c Palmer, 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. ISSN 1432-1939. PMID 28312363.
  12. ^ a b c d Wasowski, Sally; Wasowski, Andy (2020). Gardening with native plants of the South (Revised ed.). Guilford, Connecticut: Lyons Press. ISBN 978-1-4930-3880-0.
  13. ^ a b c d e f g Marsh, C. Dwight; Clawson, A. B.; Marsh, Hadleigh (1918). Stagger grass (Chrosperma muscaetoxicum) as a poisonous plant. Washington, D.C: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.64409.
  14. ^ Neuss, Norbert (June 1953). "A New Alkaloid from Amianthium Muscaetoxicum Gray". Journal of the American Chemical Society. 75 (11): 2772–2773. Bibcode:1953JAChS..75.2772N. doi:10.1021/ja01107a513. ISSN 0002-7863.
  15. ^ Travis, Joseph (August 1984). "Breeding System, Pollination, and Pollinator Limitation in a Perennial Herb, Amianthium Muscaetoxicum (Liliaceae)". American Journal of Botany. 71 (7): 941–947. Bibcode:1984AmJB...71..941T. doi:10.1002/j.1537-2197.1984.tb14160.x. ISSN 0002-9122.
  16. ^ Palmer, Mary; Travis, Joseph; Antonovics, Janis (October 1988). "Seasonal pollen flow and progeny diversity in Amianthium muscaetoxicum: ecological potential for multiple mating in a self-incompatible, hermaphroditic perennial". Oecologia. 77 (1): 19–24. Bibcode:1988Oecol..77...19P. doi:10.1007/BF00380919. ISSN 0029-8549. PMID 28312309.
  17. ^ 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. JSTOR 3392971.

Citations

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  1. ^ 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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