Please help identify weeds

I have three different weeks that have come up. I think I have an idea what three are, but I want to see what they are for sure. I also need to know if they are safe for rabbits. Thanks!

The first two are the same plant. We always called it a wild onion weed since it has that smell when you pull some of it. I has a flower that I think they will like. My son keeps trying to give it to them. He is two, so I am guessing he doesn't know. :lol:




The next one looks like a wild lettuce. It is in a couple of places.



The last I am not sure about. It looks like a mint, but I haven't smelled it. it grows close to their hutches. It has a small blue flower.



Thanks for any help you can give me.

not sure about the first one, since i've always called them wild onions too. if they are onions, they should be ok to feed the greens to your bunnies.

the second one looks like wild mustard, which my bunnies love particularly. it's also edible for humans! they'll grow tiny yellow flowers on long stems after a while. it could also be pricky lettuce, which is also bun-safe, but won't make a flower.

the last one is speedwell, a weed that grows rampant in my yard and is again, thankfully, bun safe and well loved by my herd.



knowing your weeds is super rewarding, you can just pull a big handful and toss in their cages every morning and they LOVE it!

shazza":27umup50 said:

not sure about the first one, since i've always called them wild onions too. if they are onions, they should be ok to feed the greens to your bunnies.

the second one looks like wild mustard, which my bunnies love particularly. it's also edible for humans! they'll grow tiny yellow flowers on long stems after a while. it could also be pricky lettuce, which is also bun-safe, but won't make a flower.

the last one is speedwell, a weed that grows rampant in my yard and is again, thankfully, bun safe and well loved by my herd.



knowing your weeds is super rewarding, you can just pull a big handful and toss in their cages every morning and they LOVE it!

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Thanks! Would appreciate any others that can confirm.

I don't recognize the first one, but if it has an onion smell it should be an allium. Try doing an image-search for wild onion and go from there.

The second one is a bit blurry, which makes it difficult to ID with confidence. My first thought was chicory (Cichorium intybus), but there are several plants that resemble this when young. If it is chicory it will soon send up a flower stalk with sky-blue flowers. Chicory is a great plant for rabbits. All parts can be fed, but of course, if you pull up the root you won't be able to harvest it throughout the season.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicory

The third one is definitely a member of the mint family, but it does not look like what we call speedwell here. Common names are notoriously regional, so I always use the Latin names for identification. Remember too that the speedwells include many related plants, some with quite a different appearance. Young plants, too, often look different from mature plants.

Try crushing the leaves and smelling them. The sense of smell is important when identifying plants. There are cautions about feeding mints to pregnant or lactating females. I don't know if that applies only to the "minty" mints or all members of the mint family.

The third is Purple deadnettle (Lamium purpureum) and it is a member of the mint family.

Actually, after looking at the picture again, I think you may have both purple deadnettle and henbit deadnettle (Lamium amplexicaule) in that pic. Both can be fed but as mentioned, they are members of the mint family.

alforddm":2phcyrvm said:

The third is Purple deadnettle (Lamium purpureum) and it is a member of the mint family.

Actually, after looking at the picture again, I think you may have both purple deadnettle and henbit deadnettle (Lamium amplexicaule) in that pic. Both can be fed but as mentioned, they are members of the mint family.

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I vote two separate plants, but what I would consider purple deadnettle usually has purple leaves at the top... hmmm... I had a site saved that would compare and contrast 3 similar looking plants that I think included those two - I need to find it for a brush up for myself! <br /><br /> __________ Fri Mar 10, 2017 5:27 pm __________ <br /><br /> Found it! http://identifythatplant.com/three-easi ... ng-plants/

FourRingCircus":7getgqlw said:

I vote two separate plants, but what I would consider purple deadnettle usually has purple leaves at the top... hmmm... I had a site saved that would compare and contrast 3 similar looking plants that I think included those two - I need to find it for a brush up for myself!

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It can have purple leaves at the top but it doesn't always. The third that is commonly confused is Ground ivy (Glechoma hederacea) but it's not that.

http://identifythatplant.com/three-easi ... ng-plants/
http://www.uky.edu/Ag/ukturf/5-5-14.html

The foliage of henbit is practically scentless, but ground ivy has a distinct, somewhat minty scent. It used to sometimes be called Gill-over-the-ground and the tea made from the leaves was often known as gill tea.