cowitch n Also sp cowetch [In sense 1, folk-etym for cowage (OED2 at cowage n. a 1665→); hence transf to other vines that cause, or are believed to cause, itching. Sense 3 may represent an independent formation.]
1 The intensely irritating hairs of the seed pods of the tropical leguminous vine Mucuna pruriens, formerly used medicinally and as an itching powder; occas, also as cowitch vine, the plant itself. Note: Introduced cultivated varieties of this plant are usu called velvet bean n and generally have few or none of the stinging hairs. Cf sea bean n 1
1765 PA Gaz. (Philadelphia) [10 Jan 5]/2, [Advt:] Nathaniel Tweedy, Druggist. . . [E]ssence of lavender, bergamot, rhodium, jessamine, ambergrease, and violets; cow itch; æther for the head-ach [etc]. 1809 Federal Gaz. & Baltimore Daily Advt. (MD) [20 Nov 4]/4, [Advt:] Cowitch. Edme Ducatel, Chymist & Druggist. . . Having lately received a supply of that valuable Anthelmintic, offers it for sale, duly prepared, at One Dollar per Pot. 1823 Natl. Gaz. & Lit. Reg. (Philadelphia PA) 15 July [2]/2 NY, Mary Blake . . was indicted and tried for having . . procured a quantity of the vegetable powder called Cow-Itch, and put the same in water and on a towel used by Mrs. B. the prosecutrix, which caused her great pain and distress. 1840 MA Zool. & Bot. Surv. Herb. Plants & Quadrupeds 1.65, D[olichos] pruriens. . . Cowitch or Cowage. Rarely cultivated, though it is sometimes seen in gardens; does not reach maturity in Berkshire County, though the irritating hairs on the pods, by which it is useful in certain diseases, are pretty fully grown. 1865 Lewiston Daily Evening Jrl. (ME) [4 Dec 3]/2, In a moment of thoughtless gaiety a certain young lady . . purchased an article known as cow-itch, and another young lady, possessed of the same jovial spirit, put into the bridal bed a quantity of this offensive substance. 1883 Black Hills Daily Times (Deadwood City SD) 22 Apr [3]/2, The fellows that go about town putting “cow-itch” onto unsuspecting persons . . , may think it funny, but they are liable to attempt it on the wrong man and then the laugh will be on the other side. 1904 St. Louis Republic (MO) 28 Mar 14/4, The prisoners admitted that the contents of the bottles found in Ryan’s room . . was “cowitch,” and was used to throw on horses to make the animals run away. 1918 Capital Times (Madison WI) 15 May 1/4, Postal inspectors . . started an investigation into the sending of an envelope containing “cow-itch” which was received in the office of Secretary of State Hull. 1933 Small Manual SE Flora 717, Mucuna . . Cowitch-vine . . The hairs of the pod are exceedingly irritating to the skin—hence “cowitch.” 1959 Carleton Index Herb. Plants 32, Cow itch: Stizolobium pruritum. 2007 Miami Herald (FL) 18 Mar sec H 1/4, Shirley and Joe Pedigo found out the hard way that the seed pods of cow-itch vine are covered with thousands of stiff hairs containing irritating alkaloids. . . This legume from Asia, whose botanical name is Mucuna pruriens, has established itself in South Florida as an invasive exotic weed.
2 also cowitch vine: Any of several native woody vines:
a = poison ivy n 1. Note: Quots 1836 and 1850 may refer instead to sense 2b below. esp S Atl
1804 Philadelphia Med. & Phys. Jrl. 1.1.35, A decoction of the vines of the Rhus Radicans, known by the names of Poison Vine, Cow-itch, Mercury, &c., has lately been employed. .. in the Pennsylvania Hospital. 1836 United States’ Telegraph (Washington DC) [30 Aug 2]/4, They know well that the cow-itch would not sooner fall to the ground, deprived of the oak which its vile arms cling to, than would their parasite tumble if the favor of the President were withdrawn from his support. 1850 [see 3 below]. 1891 Macon Telegraph (GA) 7 Sept [3]/5 ceGA, Well, stranger, you heard about pisened oak, ain’t you? Some calls it cow-itch. 1927 Boston Soc. Nat. Hist. Proc. 38.239 GA, A great deal of climbing ‘cow-itch’ (Rhus [=Toxicodendron]) adds to the inconvenience of getting about. 1966–68 DARE (Qu. S16, A three-leaved plant that . . makes people’s skin itch and swell) Infs FL9, 35, SC43, Cowitch; GA20, OK52, Cowitch vine.
b also cowitch plant: = trumpet creeper n 1. chiefly SE See Map
1878 Vick’s Mag. 1.109/1 nwMS, In the woods in summer and fall . . is the Cow-itch Vine, bearing blossoms . . of the richest flame color, with orange throat, and dark-colored stamens—a magnificent treacherous beauty, poisoning the flesh of all who touch it. 1901 Lounsberry S. Wild Flowers 472, But the southern natives have no such poetical idea of it [=Campsis radicans]: they call it . . even more contemptuously, “cowitch,” in reference to the belief that when cows eat of it the effect on their milk is harmful. 1933 Small Manual SE Flora 1241, Bignonia radicans. . . The leaves of this plant are often mistaken for those of Toxicodendron, whence the name “cow-itch.” 1936 Richmond Times–Dispatch (VA) 12 May 10/4, In the maturer summer time comes the gorgeous trumpet flower, known to the local farmers as the cow-itch (pronounced eech). The farmer hates it as he does the honeysuckle. 1941 Walker Lookout 57 TN, It [=trumpet-creeper] is known by the undignified name of cow-itch vine. c1960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Cow-itch. . . The trumpet creeper (Campsis radicans). 1965–70 DARE (Qu. S17, . . Other . . plants . . that . . cause itching) 32 Infs, chiefly SE, Cowitch (vine); NC24, Cowitch plant; (Qu. S26d) Inf NC21, Cowitch vine. 1972 DARE File nwFL, 3 Infs, Cowitch—looks like the trumpet vine, by some confused with poison ivy. 1988 Greenwood Commonwealth (MS) 5 June sec B 1/6, In the Greenwood area, two major perennial vines cause problems for farmers. They are the trumpet creeper, which farmers call the cowitch vine, and the red vine. 2010 Times (Gainesville GA) 4 July sec D 4/1, Question: Does the cow-itch vine make cows itch? Answer: As far as we know, the cow-itch vine (Campsis radicans) . . does not cause cattle any dermal discomfort.
c also cowitch grape: Any of several vines of the family Vitaceae bearing small blue or black berries; usu a possum grape n 2 (here: Cissus trifoliata), but appar also a Virginia creeper n 1 (here: Parthenocissus heptaphylla) or a pepper vine n (here: Ampelopsis arborea). esp TX
1878 Vick’s Mag. 1.202/1 nwMS, I think Mrs. V. D. C. is somewhat in error as regards the name, for the Cow-itch Vine is much different, it having only small white blossoms in bunches, which are succeeded by a cluster of black, shot-like berries. [DARE Ed: Cf quot 1878 at 2b above] 1906 Amer. Bee Jrl. 46.190/1 TX, Cissus incisa . . .Cow Itch Vine. Keeps bees out of mischief during dearth. 1916 Gleanings Bee Culture 44.1085/2 nwMS, [Letter:] I am mailing you under separate cover two bunches of cowitch berries. . . [This was referred to our botanist, John H. Lovell, who replies:] The letter and box of berries from J. W. Potts, Gunnison, Miss., was duly received. The species is Cissus incisa. 1922 Amer. Bee Jrl. 62.324 TX, In Texas there are three plants that go by the name of cow-itch. . . One of them, Tecoma radicans (the cow-itch of the Eastern States) or trumpet flower, is not a honey plant. . . The second is Cissus incisa (yerba del Buey), which is a good honey plant and not poisonous. . . The third, Ampelopsis heptaphylla, (seven-leaved ivy), is also a good honey plant and not poisonous. While plants overlap in locality, the first is more common in east Texas, the third in central, and the second in southeast Texas, showing that the names followed the migration. 1922 Amer. Bee Jrl. 62.466, At figure 2 is shown another plant known as ‘[‘]cow-itch” (Cissus incisa). . . This is a good honey plant, but it is difficult to determine the extent of its value, owing to the confusion with Ampelopsis arborea, the seven-leaved ivy. . . This species is not only called “cow-itch,” but also pepper-vine. [DARE Ed: Cf the preceding quot. There is evidently some confusion here, as the name “seven-leaved ivy” is highly unlikely for this species.] 1935 LA Conserv. Rev. 4.8.37, The Pepper Vine, “Cow Itch”, (Ampelopsis arborea) has ternately compound leaves . . , inconspicuous flowers, and bears small, black fruits. It is not poisonous as many believe. 1942 Ft. Worth Star–Telegram (TX) 16 Aug sec 4 10/6, And there is a cow-itch vine (Cissus incisa)—to keep the city’s traditions. 1965 Corpus Christi Caller–Times (TX) 21 Feb sec F 6/2, Last fall when the cow-itch vine on my fence was loaded with black berries the birds feasted daily. 2023 in 2025 DARE File—Internet cTX, I like this vine, wife thinks it’s poisonous. Can I keep it? [Response:] Cissus incisa—Cow itch is the common name I learned. No issues, native, heat tolerant.
3 Any of var skin rashes or infections of cattle or people. Cf dew poison n, ground itch n
1805 Parkinson Tour 2.484 MD, The heat is frequently so great that, if sand get into your shoes, it will compel you to take them off, otherwise your toes will become excoriated. By working, ploughing, harrowing, sowing, &c. I have had my feet in that state, and which the working-people call the cow-itch. 1850 Pt. Tobacco Times & Charles Co. Advt. (MD) 12 June [2]/4, The editor of the St. Mary’s Beacon not long since stated, in his usual vein of good humor, that he had been poisoned by a weed called the “cow-itch.” Some of our cotemporaries, however, in mentioning the case, fell into error, it seems, and left the impression that he had been afflicted with the loathsome disease called by that name, at which friend Haydn appears not a little chagrined. 1868 S. Cultivator 26.96/1 ceTX, As you are aware, children who run about the cow-pens bare-footed in summer, are attacked by something of the kind—a regular chigger in fact. The minute insect burrows in the tender skin, between the little toes, and produces the most excruciating itchiness and painful sores. It is known as cow-itch. 1879 Jackson Daily Citizen (MI) 27 June [3]/4, What disease? Any contagious or infectious disease. He may quarantine against the cowitch as well as the pleuro-pneumonia. 1882 IL State Med. Soc. Trans. 32.237, Among the young cattle and calves on the plains of Wyoming and Dakota is noticed an affection which, in herders’ parlance, is called cow-itch. . . In man it seems to be at first of an eczematous, vesicular eruption, the vesicles finally assuming a pustular character as the disease progresses, and the constitution becomes rapidly and seriously impressed. a1883 (1911) Bagby VA Gentleman 48, He must . . Get the cow-itch, and live on milk and brimstone for a time. 1903 Bismarck Daily Tribune (ND) 17 Feb 2/2, Several people . . are reported as afflicted with the cowitch. The disease is supposed to be spread by stock similarly afflicted, and causes a breaking out something like measles on the person affected, accompanied by a burning, itching sensation. 1912 FL State Bd. Health Annual Rept. 1911 23.174, Is the so-called cow-itch which people get from the cow-pen an infestation with the larval stage of the cow, or human hookworm? 1954 Harder Coll. cwTN, Cow-itch: A disease of the skin, especially of cows. Also applied to humans who have skin diseases, usually facetiously. 1961 Brown NC Folkl. 6.163, Use nightshade and cream for the cow itch. . . Guano water is a cure for the cow itch.