I did not see this on the safe plant list yet when researching it in order to use the cones for parakeet toys I found that spruce is edible at least to a point. People make tea from the leaves and eat the inner bark. I offered some to Twix and she munched down a 2" long piece leaving just a few little needles behind. But then there's the fact all softwoods contain toxic phenols. Although I try to find spruce shavings because it contains a whole lot less than pine. Comparing spruce to pine is like comparing pine to cedar. So I'm wondering exactly how edible it is... Is it an occasional treat edible or a good winter green staple? We have 3 huge norway spruce out back with tons of green needles.
spruce
- Thread starter akane
- Start date
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I wouldn't make it a major part of their diet, but damage to Norway Spruce trees during a hard winter (pictured at the site below) would suggest it is not out-and-out toxic.
http://www.norwayspruce.com/
http://www.norwayspruce.com/
The bottom 4-5' of all our spruce trees are bare. The branches have been stripped over the years. I would guess by deer. I've been collecting cones from drooping higher up branches. There are enough little pieces fallen around the base of the trees to feed the rabbits a little spruce daily for weeks without having to cut in to the trees.
Shara
Well-known member
I love how many edible plants there are!
