Can you guys help ID plants?

[Secuono]

I have several weeds in certain places and I have no idea what they are or if they are rabbit/guinea pig safe. I've been avoiding them, though small amounts may have mixed in.
I will post pictures here of them. I'm going out to take pictures now!

 

[MaggieJ]

We'll give it our best shot. Photographs help, but you still should double check our identifications and guesses by googling the botanical names. Image searches are useful once you have a name because you will see various shots of the same species. Weeds sometimes look different in different places or at different stages.

 

[Secuono]

Yea, I just found two plants that look like dandelion but aren't, still safe though.
Are dandelion on the safe list..?? I know they are safe for people and guinea pigs.

 

[MaggieJ]

Yes, dandelions are safe. Also chicory, which looks a lot like dandelions in the early stages but has sky blue flowers on a long stem later on. Once we ID your plants, you can check them against the safe list and take it from there.

 

[Secuono]

Alright, I put the same plants in the same one image. Three look very similar, but one is fuzzy and the other is glossy and the last is more gagged and regular texture. I know one is, or should be, Plantago spp. The glossy one looks like Coriandrum sativum to me, but idk.

Is black mulberry tree safe? I read on the list that white is, but there are several different kinds of the same tree.

I've IDed three of the plants before, but I've totally forgot. :/
1st plant looks a lot like what grows in bogs and in ponds. Same for the plant in the dog yard. Weird.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

 

[arachyd]

You have some wonderful plants there for your rabbits and for your own food. #3 looks like one of the dock family that I feed regularly to my rabbits, #4 is curly dock-very nutritious when the leaves are young and my rabbits will even eat the big leaves late in the season, #5 & #6 are plantain-very good, #13 & #14 are a long-leaved variety of plantain, #15 and #16 look to me like one of the bull thistles but I'm not sure as it isn't common here. Sorry no latin names. I'm on a dialup computer that takes about 30 minutes to look up something on the internet but #3, #4, #5, #6, #13 and #14 I'm positive about and you'll have no trouble finding them by the common names.

 

[MaggieJ]

1 & 2 Looks like wild carrot aka Queen Anne's lace. To be certain, bruise the foliage. Should smell like carrot tops. Not surprising since it is from this plant that domestic carrots have been developed. It is in the list.

3. Not certain.

4. Looks like curly dock. Good to feed in spring and early summer but not after it puts up its flower stalk because of nitrate/nitrite issues. Seeds may be toxic. You will need to check online to confirm ID.

5 & 6 Common plantain. Really really good stuff!

7, 8, 9, 10, 11 & 12 - I don't see anything there that I know for the buns. One of them may be catnip. You'll know by the musky, minty smell. Good insect repellent.

13 & 14 - (The ribbed long leaved ones - Hard to keep the numbers straight, so next time please separate them and give them a number.) Looks like ribwort plantain. Good for the rabbits, if it is. Check via google pics.

15 & 16 - Some kind of thistle. Not toxic, as far as I know, but I don't feed them.

17. This one is Lady's Thumb. It is said to be okay for rabbits. I've only fed it a few times because only recently identified it, but no problems.

Hope this helps. Remember that looking at one or two pics is not the same as being able to touch and smell the plant and observe how it grows.

Edited to add: Okay, just saw Arachyd's reply. I think we are in agreement except on the numbering. It is really hard to tell where one picture ends in a couple of cases.

 

[Secuono]

Alright, I numbered them. Like I said before, some images have been pasted together in MS Paint. Only 9 different plants. Just mentioning that again because it seems you guys are getting confused.

I've never seen wild carrot and annes lace pics always looks totally different from the tiny sprouts or w/e I posted.

 

[MaggieJ]

Oh, much better! Thanks!

1. Looks like very young wild carrot, the beginnings of next year's mature plants. It is a biennial. Check the smell. It's your best way to be sure.

2. Dock. The first may be broad-leaf dock. The second is curly dock and is in the Safe Plants list.

3. Common plantain. Plantago major. Very safe, excellent food and good to stop poopy butt. In my top five desirable weeds.

4. Unknown

5. May be catnip or another member of the mint family. Check the smell. If it is musky and minty, it is catnip. I use it to repel flies and mosquitoes in the rabbitry and on me.

6. Unknown. Might be henbit or ground ivy, but I'm just not sure. Don't think it is good for the buns anyway, but you might want to do some research.

7. Ribwort plantain, I think. Definitely a member of the plantago family and edible for the buns.

8. Some kind of thistle.

9. Lady's Thumb. http://foragingpictures.com/plants/Lady%27s_thumb/

 

[Frosted Rabbits]

that las tpic is NOT Ladys thumb== it is missing the
thumbprint
on th eleaf. It is, however, closely related-- a memebr of the buckwheat family.

 

[MaggieJ]

You might be right, Terry! I thought I could see the thumbprint on some of the leaves, but maybe not. But then I can't really see the thumbprint in the pictures in this link, although it mentions them.

http://www.ppws.vt.edu/scott/weed_id/polbl.htm

 

[Frosted Rabbits]

Members of the buckwhet family are ike that==the resemble each other so closely, one ususally does need an eye loupe to make a definitive ID-- however, the member called
tear thumb" is in no way mistaken for it's relatives!!! it is so spiny, it will not only tear your skin up, but clothing, as welll

 

[Secuono]

Thanks, I'll look more into them.
The #6 covers about 40x30ft worth of it in the dogs yard.

 

[arachyd]

The reason I edited my first post was because of the side-by-side pics. Here is the correction "You have some wonderful plants there for your rabbits and for your own food. The upper part of #2 looks like one of the dock family that I feed regularly to my rabbits. The lower part of #2 is curly dock-very nutritious when the leaves are young and my rabbits will even eat the big leaves late in the season, #3 is plantain-very good, #7 is a long-leaved variety of plantain, #8 looks to me like one of the bull thistles but I'm not sure as it isn't common here. Sorry no latin names. I'm on a dialup computer that takes about 30 minutes to look up something on the internet but #2 (lower pic), #3, and #7 I'm positive about and you'll have no trouble finding them by the common names.

 

[Frosted Rabbits]

the number 6 pic-- I recognize but cannot rememebr the name-- I beleive it is 'lamnia" and have neverseen any animal graze it-- rabbit, groundhog, or deer--Probably prudent to keep it away from the buns...

 

[hoodat]

You beat me to it Terry. I was about to comment that I've never seen anything eat it. Even insects don't seem to like it.

 

[Frosted Rabbits]

Thats the thing-- It is a very invasive plant-- and smells like the dickens when mowed-- hard as heck to get rid of-- does seem to like poorer quality soils Maybe it could be incorporated as a insect deterrent if it could be contained near animal areas.

 

[Miss M]

#8 Thistle... my rabbits eat this stuff like candy! Flowers, thorns, and all! I just CAREFULLY divide the plant up, and they go nuts!

Had a two-week-old kit trying her best to nibble on one, when it poked her in the cheek, causing her to make a funny little face! :lol:

...did you know that the artichoke is simply a very large thistle flower bud?

 

[Frosted Rabbits]

:

...did you know that the artichoke is simply a very large thistle flower bud?

No, I did not-- but then, I have never seen one bloom!! Just Broccoli and cauliflower! I did now Capers are flowers, though..

 

[sommrluv]

Can they eat any thistle? I'm a little 'blessed' in the thistle department