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Glite Dictionary
sowbane

sowbane

9.9
A plant that is poisonous to pigs
  • noun
  • Archaic
translation icon : sowbane
  • Farmers avoided planting sowbane near pig pens to protect their livestock.

Examples

  • The leaves of sowbane can be toxic if ingested by swine.

  • The sowbane plant can be deadly to pigs.

  • Some herbalists once believed that sowbane was useful in controlling wild pig populations.

  • Farmers should be cautious of sowbane in their fields.

  • Farmers avoided planting sowbane near pig pens to protect their livestock.

  • The leaves of sowbane can be toxic if ingested by swine.

  • The sowbane plant can be deadly to pigs.

Synonyms

Chenopodium hybridum
vssowbane
  • Specialized
9.9

A small wild plant in the goosefoot family sometimes poisonous to pigs

is claimed to be fatal to pigs rather than merely sometimes poisonous
red goosefoot
vssowbane
  • UK
9.9

A plant that lives one year with red stems that people often call a weed and that sometimes harms animals

is seen as specifically deadly to pigs rather than vaguely harmful to animals

Surface Forms

sowbane singular
sowbanes plural

Morphology

sowbane = sow + bane (transparent) = sow + bane

Direct, literal compound: 'sow' + 'bane' clearly indicates something causing death or harm to sows.

Etymology

Sowbane comes from the parts sow ('female pig') and bane ('a cause of death' or 'poison'), so it literally means a plant deadly to pigs. That's why sowbane refers to herbs, such as black goosefoot, that people once believed were poisonous to swine.