United States Department of Agriculture 

NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE 

Invasive Species Technical Note No. MT-8 

January 2007 

Ecology and Management of Houndstongue (Cynoglossum officinale L.)

by 

Jim Jacobs, NRCS Invasive Species Specialist, Bozeman, Montana 

Sharlene Sing, Assistant Research Professor, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana 

Abstract 

Houndstongue, Cynoglossum officinale (Boraginaceae), is a biennial or short-lived perennial 

originating from montane zones in western Asia and Eastern Europe. Houndstongue reproduces 

by seed only, and was probably introduced to North America as a grain seed contaminant. This 

species was first reported in Montana from Sweet Grass County near Big Timber, Montana in 

1900. As of 2006, houndstongue has been reported in 35 of Montana’s 56 counties 

(http://invader.dbs.umt.edu). Houndstongue invades grasslands, pastures, shrublands, 

forestlands, croplands and riparian areas, and is an effective competitor that readily displaces 

desirable species, establishing monocultures and further degrading forage quality in disturbed 

habitats. This species is particularly well adapted to invading and dominating forest openings 

created through logging activities. 

Houndstongue has a number of biological characteristics that contribute to its invasiveness. 

Houndstongue seeds are covered with barbed prickles that have been referred to as ‘nature’s 

Velcro®. These facilitate the effective, widespread dispersal of seeds on the fur, wool or hides of 

passing wildlife and livestock, and on the cloths of humans. The seeds are also relatively large; 

this provision of stored energy confers a significant competitive advantage due to high 

germination rates and seedling establishment. The large taproot developed in the first year of 

growth enables houndstongue to tolerate environmental stress and produce many seeds in the 

second year of growth. The low-growing rosettes, impervious to grazing pressure and mowing, 

are characterized by large leaves, an adaptation for effective photosynthesis under both high light 

intensity conditions in open grasslands and in shaded conditions under trees and shrubs. The 

nasty odor and high levels of pyrrolizidine alkaloids in houndstongue leaves deter grazing 

animals, increasing grazing pressure on neighboring forb and grass species. 

 

Economic reasons for managing this weed include: reduced effective grazing land due to 

livestock avoidance of infested areas and lower forage production through competition; reduced 

wildlife habitat; potential poisoning hazard for horses and cattle consuming hay and processed 

forage contaminated by houndstongue; reduction in market price of wool contaminated with 

houndstongue seeds; and increased management and veterinary costs arising when foliar 

exudates cause dermal and ocular irritation and behavioral problems in cattle. Prevention of 

houndstongue invasion and containment of infestations are difficult because of its adaptation for 

long-distance transport by domestic and wild animals. Therefore, early detection and prevention 

of seed production are critical to avoiding problematic infestations. Population increase in all 

biennial weeds is dependant on seed production; therefore, management to reduce houndstongue 

populations should target the flowering stage of its life history. Sulfonylurea herbicides are most 

effective at killing houndstongue plants at all growth stages. Herbicides applied at the early 

stages of flowering will prevent seed production and reduce first year rosettes. Currently there 

NRCS−Montana−Technical Note−Invasive Species−MT-8 1
are no biological control insects approved for release in Montana due to concerns for negative 

non-target effects on rare native Boraginaceae species. Using sheep or goats to manage 

houndstongue is not practical due to the potential for poisoning. However, prescribed grazing 

that maintains healthy grassland plant communities will reduce houndstongue invasion. Tilling 

effectively controls houndstongue on cropland and mowing can reduce seed production but will 

not eliminate rosettes because of their low-growth form and large-root reserves available to 

maintain growth after mowing. Prescribed burning when nutlets are dry (late summer or early 

fall) may be affective in preventing spread because the nutlets remain in the grassland canopy 

where temperatures generated by fire are greatest. 

Biology and Identification

Cynoglossum is a combination of the Greek kynos which means dog and glossa which means 

tongue and refers to the shape and texture of the rosette leaf. Other common names for 

houndstongue include beggar’s lice, dog’s tongue, sheep bur, dog bur, sheep lice, glovewort, and 

woolmat. No sub-species of houndstongue have been reported. 

Seeds/Fruit. Houndstongue seeds are large (15.3 mg without the fruit coat) and contained 

singularly in thick-walled, indehiscent nutlets. Each fruit contains four of the seven mm long 

nutlets. The thick wall of the nutlet is one mechanism of dormancy; in order for the seed to 

germinate the wall must be scarified. The entire nutlet surface (with the exception of the point of 

attachment to the stem on the ventral side) is covered with prickles barbed at the tip (glochidiate) 

that attach like Velcro® to the fur of animals and the clothing of people. The thick wall and 

Velcro®-like barbs work together to enhance the long-distance spread and establishment of 

houndstongue. Viability of freshly collected seeds has been estimated at 90 percent but seeds 

lose viability in two to three years. Seeds remain dormant in the fall and winter and germinate 

uniformly in the spring after six to 12 weeks of cool-moist stratification. Although 

houndstongue does not produce a large soil seed bank, viable seeds may persist in fallen 

infructescences and on the soil surface (see Figure 1). 

Rosettes. Houndstongue seedlings emerge synchronously in March and April and develop into 

rosettes in the first year of growth. Rosette leaves become large, four to 12 by one to two inches 

(10-30 cm by 2-5 cm), petiolate, simple with entire margins, ovate or elliptical in shape, veined 

in a net pattern, and covered with soft hairs (pubescent) (see Figure 2). The shape and texture of 

the rosette leaf is the source of the common name. Rosette leaves remain grey-green throughout 

the growing season, even in drought, and throughout the fall, dying after a hard frost. Rosettes 

leaves grow from the root crown in the second year until the formation of the flower stem in 

May. 

NRCS−Montana−Technical Note−Invasive Species−MT-8 2
 Figure 1. A dried houndstongue infructescence found on grassland protected from 

 livestock grazing. 

 Figure 2. A houndstongue rosette growing in a grassland protected from livestock grazing. 

NRCS−Montana−Technical Note−Invasive Species−MT-8 3
Roots. Houndstongue plants develop thick, black, branching taproots that can grow to depths of 

greater than three feet (1 m) in the first year. The taproots store nutrients sufficient for seed 

production in the second year even if second-year rosette leaves are removed. Houndstongue is 

considered a hemicryptophyte because the second-year rosettes are produced from perennial 

buds located on the root crown of first-year rosettes at, or just below, the soil surface. 

Flowering. First-year rosettes do not produce flowering stems, suggesting that houndstongue 

requires a vernalization period in order to initiate bolting. Houndstongue is considered a 

facultative biennial because second-year rosettes growing under adverse environmental 

conditions are capable of delaying flowering until the third year or longer until more optimal 

conditions exist. Most plants are monocarpic, dying after a single season of flowering; however, 

one study found six out of 55 plants flowered in their second and third years, while two out of 55 

flowered in their third and fourth years. 

Houndstongue flowers from May through July. Flowering stems grow to a height of one to four 

feet tall (30 to 120 cm) and flowers are arranged in false racemes on branches growing from the 

leaf axils or short terminal branches. The flowers are dull reddish-purple, with five triangularlobed sepals fused to form a star-shaped calyx, and a funnel-form, five fused-petal corolla. The 

flowers are perfect (anthers and ovaries), with five anthers on the corolla throat and a deeplylobed ovary and simple style on the pistil, supporting both self- and cross-pollination. 

Characteristic of Boraginaceae, the ovary is four-parted, maturing into four individual nutlets. 

The reproductive capacity of a single houndstongue plant ranges from 50 to 800 seeds, and is 

thought to increase significantly under non-autogamous pollination. 

Habitat. Houndstongue occurs on rangeland, pastures, abandoned cropland, roadsides and 

waste places, at the borders of woods and forests, and along riparian areas. In England it is 

found on sandy soils and old dune-grasslands and in the Netherlands it has been reported from 

calcareous coastal dunes but absent from acid coastal dunes. In North America it is found on 

rocky, sandy, loamy and calcareous soils. 

Economic Importance. Populations of houndstongue establish on rangelands and pastures 

where they displace forage species and decrease grazing capacity. Houndstongue has not been a 

problem in cultivated fields. Nutlets reduce the value of wool and cause irritation, eye infection, 

and behavioral problems in cattle. Poisoning has been reported in cattle, horses, and sheep. 

Extracts of the roots and leaves of houndstongue have been used in folk remedies for various 

ailments including fever, eczema, acne vulgaris, and hemorrhoids. The red pigments of the outer 

root surface are anti-bacterial and reportedly have wound-healing activity. Roots and leaves 

have been used as pesticides and leaves have been used to repel moles in gardens and rodents 

from stored foods. 

Spread. Long-distance dispersal of houndstongue seeds occurs when seeds attach to the fur of 

animals. A British Columbia study found that 65 percent of the mature seeds on standing 

houndstongue plants in one pasture became attached to and were re-distributed by cattle. 

However, another study found that more than 75 percent of the seeds fell within a five inch 

(0.12 m) radius of the parent plant. Seeds remain on upright stems and can be dispersed 

throughout the fall and winter months. Dispersal via streams and irrigation ditches is unlikely 

because their high-specific gravity prevents seeds from floating. 

 

NRCS−Montana−Technical Note−Invasive Species−MT-8 4
Management Alternatives 

Houndstongue is a biennial dependant on seed production to spread and maintain populations. 

Therefore management should target the flowering stage of growth to prevent seed production. 

The potential for long-distance immigration of seeds often makes houndstongue a long-term 

management problem, even where it has been locally eradicated. 

 

Herbicide.1/ First-year rosettes can be killed using auxin-type herbicides including 2,4-D and 

dicamba (but not picloram). However, after bolting, these herbicides become less effective. 

Sulfonylurea herbicides including chlorsulfuron, metsulfuron, and trisulfuron are most effective 

at killing houndstongue plants at all growth stages. Application of 0.5 ounce/acre (product) of 

metsulfuron (Escort®) at the first sign of flowering will kill plants and prevent seed production. 

Including a non-ionic surfactant is necessary when applying metsulfuron and all sulfonylurea 

herbicides, and is especially important with houndstongue because the leaf pubescence impedes 

herbicide penetration. Imazapic (Plateau®) at 8-12 ounces of product per acre should be applied 

with one quart methylated seed oil (MSO) to rosettes or bolting plants. Two quarts 2,4-D amine 

should be applied to rosettes before they bolt. Although houndstongue is usually avoided by 

livestock, it may become more palatable after herbicide application, making grazing animals on 

treated areas more susceptible to poisoning. It is therefore advised to avoid grazing livestock for 

two weeks post-application on houndstongue-infested pastures that have been treated with 

herbicides. 

Table 1. Chemical and product name, recommended application rate, soil residual half life, and 

eco-toxicity of herbicides commonly used to control houndstongue. The eco-toxicity is the lethal 

concentration of the herbicide when applied in a single dose kills 50 percent of the tested organism 

(the lower the number the more toxic the herbicide). Follow label guidelines for rangeland use and 

all other label requirements when applying herbicides to avoid damage to desirable plant species. 

 

Chemical 

name 

Product name Rate/acre Half life-days Eco-toxicity (LC50/EC50) 

Imazapic Plateau 8-12 oz 31-233 >100 mg/L 

Metsulfuron Escort/Cimarron 0.5-1.0 oz 14-180 >150 mg/L 

2,4-D Many names 2 qt 7 1-10 mg/L 

1/

Any mention of products in this publication does not constitute a recommendation by the NRCS. It is a violation 

of Federal law to use herbicides in a manner inconsistent with their labeling. 

Hand Pulling and Grubbing. Houndstongue plants can be pulled at any time during the 

growing season. Plants tend to break off at the root crown and using a shovel to pry up the 

taproot can facilitate pulling the root crown to prevent regeneration of the plant. Collecting 

seeds and burning them or disposing of them in the garbage will prevent spread. Inflorescences 

can be collected any time during the year, however, nutlets attached to dried inflorescences tend 

to break off easily and fall to the ground during collection. 

 

Grazing and Mowing. Using sheep or goats to manage houndstongue is not practical due to the 

risk of poisoning. However, prescribed grazing that maintains healthy grassland plant 

communities will reduce houndstongue invasion. Mowing during flowering but before seed set 

may be used to reduce seed production, but it may not affect populations of rosettes. 

 

NRCS−Montana−Technical Note−Invasive Species−MT-8 5
Biological Control. Biological control of houndstongue has been investigated as a potential 

management alternative for this weed since 1988. Five biological control insects identified as 

potential agents for the control of houndstongue include: the root-mining hoverfly Cheilosia 

pascuorum Becker (Diptera: Syrphidae); the root-mining flea beetle Longitarsus quadriguttatus

Pontoppidan (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae); and the houndstongue root-mining (Mogulones 

cruciger Herbst), seed-feeding (Mogulones borraginis [Fabricius]) and stem-feeding Mogulones 

trisignatus Gyllendal weevils (Coleoptera: Curculionidae). The first North American releases 

for classical biological control of houndstongue were made with L. quadriguttatus and M. 

cruciger in British Columbia, Canada, in 1997-1998. Populations of L. quadriguttatus on release 

sites have not increased or dispersed as rapidly as M. cruciger. Mogulones cruciger is now 

established at several sites in British Columbia and Alberta; significant, persistent decline in 

houndstongue populations on release sites is evident. 

 

The anticipation that M. cruciger would be highly effective in controlling invasive houndstongue 

in North America was based on the following attributes: 1) its distribution throughout a wide 

native range indicates that it is highly phenotypically plastic and therefore readily adaptable to 

succeed in a variety of habitats, and 2) it has a propensity to build up to high local populations in 

a short time in response to newly arising host plant populations. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service has elected to withhold approval for U.S. release of this agent based on a perceived 

threat to a closely related, endangered native species, Cryptantha crassipes, indigenous to the 

Chihuahuan Desert in Texas (Story 2002, pers. comm.). To answer these concerns, further host 

screening evaluations were conducted in Alberta at the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada 

Lethbridge Research Centre and at the CABI International Institute of Biological Control 

European Station in Switzerland. Laboratory no-choice experiments indicated that of 22 native 

North American Boraginaceae species evaluated, ten were attacked by M. cruciger. However, 

under simulated ‘field conditions’ approximated by an open (non-caged) release, attack on nontarget species was found to be negligible in the presence of the target weed. Study results 

identified two biennial or perennial species, Hackelia floribunda (stickseed) and Cryptantha 

celosioides (miner’s candle), as native North American species of concern because they were 

found to be consistently accepted and viable hosts for M. cruciger. Annual species were judged 

to be at reduced risk because M. cruciger larvae must over-winter in the roots of the host plant 

(Schwarzlaender 1997). In addition, both of these species are sympatric with northern U.S. 

distributions of houndstongue. Research efforts continue with the task of identifying and 

characterizing potential non-target impacts associated with M. cruciger, and on host specificity 

screening of the other candidate agents. 

 

Burning. All houndstongue top growth, including seeds still attached to the inflorescence, is 

susceptible to heat damage and burning. However, post-burn growing conditions (open canopy, 

bare soil and reduced competition) may actually favor houndstongue invasion and reestablishment from surviving or migrant seed and taproot re-growth. Prescribed burning in late 

summer and early fall may reduce the spread of houndstongue. 

Tilling. Houndstongue in cropland can be managed with minimum tillage. A single shallow 

tillage will kill rosettes and root crowns. 

Re-vegetation. Houndstongue population establishment, growth and expansion are all positively 

related to disturbance. However, because houndstongue is characterized by a relatively low 

growth rate and weak competitive ability, rapid restoration, reclamation and re-vegetation of 

NRCS−Montana−Technical Note−Invasive Species−MT-8 6
disturbed sites can prevent or significantly reduce houndstongue establishment. Establishing 

competitive perennial grasses, followed by prescribed grazing management to maintain grass 

vigor will suppress houndstongue and prevent spread by seed. Refer to Montana Plant Materials 

Technical Note 46, ‘Seeding Rates and Recommended Cultivars,’ and Extension Bulletin EB19 

‘Dryland Pasture Species for Montana and Wyoming’ for seeding rate guidance and revegetation species selection. State and area resource specialists can help determine the most 

appropriate, site-specific species mix, timing of seeding, and seeding methods. 

Integrated Pest Management. An integrated houndstongue weed management program will 

include prevention, early detection and small-scale eradication, containment, and large-scale 

population reduction. Prevention is guided by how houndstongue spreads and its requirements 

for establishment and includes maintaining competitive plant communities and preventing seed 

imports by livestock and people. Early detection and small-scale eradication is achieved through 

persistent survey and aggressive herbicide application. Houndstongue populations are contained 

by herbicidal control of population borders and satellite populations, persistent low input control 

actions such as biological control insect releases that reduce seed production, and through 

cultivation of competitive plants. Large-scale population reduction is achieved over the longterm by applying management alternatives such as prescribed grazing to maintain healthy, 

competitive perennial grasses and judicial application of herbicides to reduce houndstongue 

populations. 

 

References 

De Clerck-Floate, R. 1997. Cattle as dispersers of hound’s-tongue on rangeland in southeastern 

British Columbia. Journal of Range Management 50: 239-243. 

De Clerck-Floate, R. and M. Schwarzlander. 2002. Host specificity of Mogulones cruciger

(Coleoptera: Curculionidae), and biocontrol agent for houndstongue (Cynoglossum officinale), 

with emphasis on testing of native North American Boraginaceae. Biocontrol Science and 

Technology 12: 293-306. 

Story, J.M. 2005. Houndstongue. In: Coombs, E.M., J.K. Clark, G.L. Piper, and A.F. 

Cofrancesco, Jr. (Eds), Biological Control of Invasive Plants in the United States. Oregon State 

Univ. Press, Corvallis. Page 445. 

Upadhyaya, M.K., H.R. Tilsner, and M.D. Pitt. 1988. The biology of Canadian weeds. 87. 

Cynoglossum officinale L. Can J. Plant Sci. 68: 763-774. 

Zouhar, K. 2002. Cynoglossum officinale. In: Fire Effects Information System [Online]. U.S. 

Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences 

Laboratory. http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/forb/cynoff/all.html 

NRCS−Montana−Technical Note−Invasive Species−MT-8 7