Is this plantain?

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Nyctra

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Because that would be pretty cool if it is... :lol: Talking about the big round glossy leaves; it has stalks of seed-things.

I've been looking for it for years, since I first got meat buns and started trying to forage for them, but all I've been able to find in my woods is narrow-leaf plantain, and I'm not sure if it's quite the same as what everyone refers to when they suggest feeding plantain. I can't even remember what plantain is for anymore. :?

Originally I'd transplanted just a bunch of dandelions, an accidental bullthistle or something with them, carrot tops to grow greens for the buns. Some clover and chickweed moved in. I put some dud spinach seeds in this spot where this plantain??? popped up. This is all in a tiny 1x3' bin, with nothing but moss and barley grass growing nearby, and for years nothing but barley grass had grown in the soil I used - so I have no idea where it came from. :shock: Just so weird a plant I've never seen before would crop up in my tiny dinky bunny garden!
 

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Yes, that's plantain! :)

Weeds are amazing. I had one spindly plant of shepherd's purse tagging along in a pot with a purchased plant. "Let it go to seed!" I warned. "I want it for the buns." The next year, there was a moderate amount and again I let it go to seed. After that, there was plenty. Once the rabbits were gone, I lifted the ban on cutting it back and though there is likely some out there, it's nothing like before.

Your plantain seed was likely lying dormant in the soil for years and just began to grow when the conditions were right. I once dug up an area of grass for a garden that never got planted, but the digging resulted in the most wonderful growth of plantain imaginable. I'd just started with the rabbits then and they loved it.

Plantain is a useful forage plant for rabbits, but it is also a remedy for diarrhea. It's a great plant to have in your bunny garden. Each of the seeds on that stock has the potential to be next year's plant, so be sure to let them ripen and scatter them where you want bunny feed.
 

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