ABSTRACT
Tall fescue a grass used widely as a permanent pasture and a source of hay, is normally an excellent provider of economical feed for beef cattle. However, under certain management conditions which are not entirely understood, tall fescue can become toxic. Numerous mycotoxins and metabolites have been isolated from in vitro cultures of fungi that were found on tall fescue. Tall fescue and ryegrass are closely related botanically and can be genetically crossed to. Keyl et al. implicated C. cladosporioides in the fescue foot syndrome. Samples of toxic tall fescue hay were extracted with ether, and the residue from the extract was suspended in olive oil. Tall fescue and ryegrass are closely related botanically and can be genetically crossed to yield hybrids. Both grasses produce two types of alkaloids: one type contains a dizaphenanthrene nucleus; the other type contains a pyrrolizidine nucleus.
