Bob posted
>The weed  is a water white honey producing weed which covers over a million 
>acres in Australia. Some call the weed "Paterson's Curse" after Mrs. 
>Patterson which some say imported the beautiful purple weed for her garden 
>around a 100 years ago. Over a million acres covered in a 100 years.
>
> I traced the source of Paterson's Curse back to imported bird seed.
>
> Beekeepers call "Paterson's Curse" by the name "Salvation Jane" as crops 
> of water white honey ( 8-10 on the Pfund scale).

Be very wary of this plant. It contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) which 
are extremely toxic, and hepatotoxic to grazing animals, particularly horses 
and cattle, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patterson%27s_curse . Much 
controversy has occurred here as to the real danger of Pattersons Curse 
honey, but for my money, even very low levels of these toxins in honey are 
to be avoided because of their cumulative nature. See especially 
http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/newsroom/factsheets/factsheets2004/consumersadvisedtoli2347.cfm. 
However I think the presence of PAs in Comfrey tea,which has proved to be 
equally contentious as a health hazard, is in fact a much more serious 
hazard to human health (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comfrey

Despite the controversy, our principal Govt research agency CSIRO, 
eventually won through a battle in the courts, and a number of biological 
control agents were introduced to deal with the infestations of this plant. 
These have certainly had a big impact on the plant here in Western Australia 
which I believe is now much more manageable. Sounds like you guys might have 
to do something similar?

Peter Detchon
Western Australia 

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