Honeysuckle...

[Frecs]

In the category of: saved by the double check

I was out gathering edibles for the rabbits after it stopped raining and found a patch of weeds with a lot of honeysuckle growing in it. I *thought* I remembered it being edible for rabbits so I gathered a bunch. But, a voice in my head kept nagging at me to go double check before giving it to the rabbits.

So, I went in the house and pulled up my "safe rabbit foods" list...no honeysuckle! :x :shock:

Google said...some honeysuckle safe, some deadly........ummm...that's a "not edible" in my book! :roll:

Back outside to remove said honeysuckle from the collection bucket!

dear dear dear...close call, that one! ancake:

 

[Miss M]

Some safe, some deadly? :shock:

Oh my goodness... I thought it was all safe! Guess I'd better figure out what I have first!

 

[Marinea]

I also thought it was safe...been feeding it to mine since I got them.

 

[Mountain Spice]

Holy jenkies!!! I started feeding it to mine as well... for a treat since it is sweet.. I remember getting the "honey" out as a child.. yum

 

[MaggieJ]

Sometimes a plant is listed as toxic because one part of it is toxic but the rest of the plant is fine. Queen Anne's Lace (Daucus carota) is a good example. This is exactly the same plant from which garden carrots (Daucus carota sativus) were developed. The seeds are strong medicinals and contraceptives and so should not be fed to rabbits. But the rest of the plant is fine.

Violets (Viola spp.) are another safe plant with toxic seeds.

I'm not knowledgeable about the honeysuckles, but I suspect that the toxic warnings are similar. Perhaps for the morning glory/bindweeds as well. More research is needed for "doubtful" plants.

 

[LilacGal]

Hmmm we have some here but I thought they couldn't eat it. No specific reason why. I only have two so I can't afford a test rabbit. We currently live in a condo so not a lot of weeds here. Boo. I do buy dandilion and kale at the market for them. Organic of course, because lord knows whats on "normal" produce.

 

[Frecs]

I've not looked into it further. MaggieJ..you could be right that it is a matter of what parts are being fed. But, it seems that "honeysuckle" comes in a variety of "types" and some are toxic (but I don't know if they mean the flowers, the leaves, the seeds, or all it it). I was surprised because I, too, ate the honey out of the flowers as a kid. But I didn't eat the flowers or leaves and I don't trust myself to determine if what is here on my property is Japanese or whatever (apparently there are over 150 different types of honeysuckle).

Here is one website's write up: http://www.eattheweeds.com/honeysuckle-heaven-2/

According to eHow, some types/parts of honeysuckle can contain saponic glycosides and cyanogenic glycosides but they don't indicate what parts of the plants produce these chemicals.

 

[MaggieJ]

Eat The Weeds is a pretty good website. In view of the information given, I'd avoid giving the rabbits any part of a honeysuckle. Why take chances with such a complicated family of plants?