a few plants toxicity questions: yarrow, marigold, sorrel...

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ohiogoatgirl

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just seen these on a pdf about poisonous plants.

"groundsel" Senecio vulgaris
says flowers and leaves are toxic.
there is plenty of this on the farm here. its definitely here and there in a few hay bales.

"common sorrel" Rumex acetosa
doesn't specify which part is toxic, pictured is seed head though.
this is around the yard. I don't know if I have fed this specifically in the past, but if I had then it would have been the leaves.

"dock sorrel" Rumex spp
says leaves toxic if fed in high quantities.
definitely have this here where it doesn't get mowed. if I remember correctly the leaves are one that tend to give annoying faux papercut feeling if you walk through it. don't know that I would want to bother gathering this anyway even in small quantities.

marigold Tagetes spp
says all species may cause skin irritations.
I could have swore I read that someone fed some marigolds off a few yard plants? I could be wrong.. Maybe it is only ok in very small amounts..?

yarrow Achillea millefolium
says may cause skin irritations.
really?? I thought this was a good herb? maybe it was just humans... hmm..
 
LOTS of plants may cause skin irritations to sensitive people.
I tend to not pay that much heed, since I'm not sensitive.

I feed sorrel and dock. Sorrel is high in oxalic acid, and mature dock is very high in tannins and also contains oxalic acid. Neither plant seems to cause trouble to rabbits if fed as a part of a balanced diet. I just wouldn't try to feed it exclusively.

Yarrow, I'm less familiar with, but I plan on feeding a little this year.
From wikipedia:
Dangers

In rare cases, yarrow can cause severe allergic skin rashes; prolonged use can increase the skin's photosensitivity.[56] This can be triggered initially when wet skin comes into contact with cut grass and yarrow together.

In one study, aqueous extracts of yarrow impaired the sperm production of laboratory rats.[57]

Ok, so the skin thing is an allergy that some people have. That makes sense.

II don't plan on mine ever having their skin in contact with water and sunlight after prolonged consumption...and I do not plan on ever giving a daily solution of leaf extract.
A lot of listed dangers have to do with laboratories studying incredibly concentrated doses.
 
oohhhh so THAT is mallow! we have that too! good to know!

hahahaha I just showed my dad the image search for groundsel vs sow thistle... his reaction was to make loud noises and then a lot of mumbling that sounded like some cursing was in there.. I guess he isn't going to be any help figuring out which is which! haha!


I nearly forgot! dead nettle. Lamium purpureum
safe or no? I was reading that it is edible to humans.


good to hear on the dock and sorrel. adding it to my safe in smaller quantities list.

makes sense on the yarrow. I have some I am going to plant in an herb garden like area. and there is some growing wild in the pastures and fields but not much.
 
Yarrow is excellent rabbit food, fresh and in hay. They love it.
Dead nettle is safe, too.

"Toxic" is a very elastic and unclear term, and what's good for one mammal (for example: me) like choclate, grapes or onions is toxic to another mammal (here: dogs)

Also, it always depends on the dose. There are too many statments on the internet that say "if your bunny eats this or that it will die", and that's simply not true. There are not that many things that can knock rabbits out of their boots, appleseeds, celandine or thuja are none of them.
As herbivores rabbits are well equipped to handle many things plants come up with.
They even nibble toxic stuff for medical reasons, like preventing parasits. But I think that is only true for rabbits that have free choice of everything that's growing out there, house or cage rabbits may lack experience to know how much of what they can stomach, or are just too happy about any green stuff.

Groundsel seems to be toxic.
Sorrel isn't toxic per se, has lots of vitamin C but is also very high on oxalats, so don't feed too much of that, but I wouldn't worry if some leafs are mixed with lot of other stuff.
Marigold isn't toxic to humans, cats or dogs, so I wouldn't worry too much about rabbits if fed in moderation.
 
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