Morning Glory, squash and tomatoe plants?

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cereshill

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Location
Western Wash.
I kjnow a local who feeds Morning glory and saw a post on rabbits eating tomato plants

anyone have any thoughts on these plants?
thx
 
Tomato plants are toxic. I'm not saying that every rabbit that nibbles one is going to drop down dead, but it's not a good idea to feed them. They belong to the same family as deadly nightshade, eggplant and potato plants. All have toxic foliage.

I've heard of people feeding morning glory vines, but I've also heard they are toxic. I wouldn't chance it. There was a discussion about this somewhere on the HT rabbit forum, so if you do a search you may learn more.

Squash plants are okay to feed, but most rabbits do not like the bristly texture and won't eat them, except when the leaves are very young.
 
I'm curious about the morning glory myself. I do know that the seeds of certain varieties (all of them?) are hallucinogenic, which does make me wonder about the foliage. We acquired several loads of fill along the side of our driveway which came with the most beautiful deep purple morning glories, and I'm wondering about the goats when the vines make it through the fence.
 
There are over 10000 species of "morning glory". They vary from completely edible to quite toxic. Livestock have died from eating them but in most cases it is not an issue. Some of them are extremely invasive. Others will stay where you put them and might even require some extra care to keep alive. Asking if a morning glory is toxic is about like asking if some random wild flower with no description is toxic. Most aren't but who knows what you have.
 
Good point, Akane. I had no idea there were that many! Are those actually different species or different varieties and cultivars? We need to remember to use botanical names when discussing toxicity. It is the only way to be certain we are discussing the same plant.

Half Caper, if you know where the fill came from, perhaps you can find out what kind of morning glories you have. If you're not sure, you may want to keep the goats away from them.
 
For years I thought the hedge bindweed (formerly genus Convolvulus, now Calystegia) we have growing wild here in Washington was morning glory (genus Ipomea) and therefore poisonous. It turns out the bindweed is great rabbit food, and my guys looove it (thanks for that Maggie, my garden has never been so weed free!).

You can look online for pictures to help with identifying, and Cereshill, the King county website has a great weeds page that shows it looking exactly right for here, if you are interested.

Bind weed is mostly just white, sometimes with a pinkish blush, so I think with bright blue, Half Caper, you really are looking at Ipomea...But I am definately not an expert!
 
Bind weed is mostly just white, sometimes with a pinkish blush, so I think with bright blue, Half Caper, you really are looking at Ipomea...But I am definately not an expert!
Click to expand...

No question in my mind that it's morning glory. We have bindweed as well, it's much smaller and grows wild everywhere. The morning glory is much bigger, much more colourful, and obviously an escapee from someone's garden. Pretty, mind you. :)
 
I have morning glory here, but I'm sure enough that it's the poisonous type that I don't dare use it. I also have several other kinds of vines, but have been unable to identify them. So I'm just going to kill them. Too bad.
 
Have you tried posting pics of them? It would be a shame to waste a potential source of a different kind of bunny greens that grows without needing attention for lack of identification.
 
Well... no, I haven't, actually... maybe I'll give that a shot!

They are growing in the wrong place, though (they're killing the ligustrum hedge at the back that keeps the levee for the yard in place), so I'd have to dig some up and move them. But I could do that, if they were useful. :)
 

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