Enzootic ulcer in the back of the tongue in cattle after ingestion of hay containing flower clusters of yellow bristle-grass

Chronically recidivating enzootic ulcerations in the tongues of numerous milking cows in the Po river plain area in Italy. The animals were permanently kept indoors in cubicle houses and fed by hay containing high amounts of ripe yellow bristle grass (Setaria glauca (L.) Beauv. = S. pumila Poiret]). The panicled parts of the culms were found to be the cause of the massive injuries.