gousiekte, noun
- Forms:
- Also gouwziekte.
- Origin:
- AfrikaansShow more Afrikaans, gou quick + siekte disease; see quotation 1932.
1. Pathology. A disease of livestock resulting in sudden death and caused by the ingestion of any of several poisonous plants of the Rubiaceae.
1926 Farming in S. Afr. Apr. 3In the past gousiekte has been most troublesome in sheep, but this year heavy losses have also recurred in cattle.
1988 T.S. Kellerman et al. Plant Poisonings & Mycotoxicosis of Livestock 114Gousiekte is a disease of domestic ruminants characterized by acute heart failure.
2. combinations
1927 D.J. Steyn in Farming in S. Afr. Aug. 247A curious characteristic of the Gousiektebossie is that it is not always poisonous to the same degree. The nature of the soil and the climatic conditions determine this to a large extent.
1981 J. Vahrmeijer Poisonous Plants of Sn Afr. 140Pavetta schumanniana,..Gousiekte tree..is the only member of the group of plants causing gousiekte which is a large shrub or tree and does not have a subterranean stem system.
A disease of livestock resulting in sudden death and caused by the ingestion of any of several poisonous plants of the Rubiaceae.
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