Would weed be velvetleaf? edible?

[Wheels]

I've got plenty of weeds in the backyard and I know most of them -
This thing I'm not so sure what it is - Velvetleaf is my best guess but I don't know anything about it.

it's very fuzzy/soft and the plants are about 20" tall the leaves are about the size of my hand.

also I have way too much spiny/thorny pigweed in my yard - anyone have rabbits to eat the spiny variety?

 

[MaggieJ]

Looks like it might be velvet leaf. You'll know for sure when it flowers. It is a member of the mallow family and the leaves are apparently edible in soups and stir-fries.

http://extension.missouri.edu/p/ipm1007-134

This site says that it not known to be toxic.
http://www.weedinfo.ca/en/weed-index/view/id/ABUTH

We only get an occasional plant of it around here and I have never bothered to feed it to the rabbits. So I can't speak from personal experience on this one.

 

[Miss M]

Well, I don't recognize it at all, but I did a search on velvetleaf, and it does look like it could be it. These sites give you pictures at various stages, which could help you identify it for sure (you might have to keep looking at it for a few months):

http://www.ppws.vt.edu/scott/weed_id/abuth.htm
http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/WEEDS/velvetleaf.html

Rabbits eat lots of thorny things, so I wouldn't be surprised at all if they ate the thorny pigweed. You'd need to make sure you know what it is and that it is edible.

 

[MaggieJ]

When you say spiny pigweed, I am wondering if you mean spiny sow thistle, Sonchus asper. If so, your rabbits will chomp it down as though it had no spines at all.
http://www.ppws.vt.edu/scott/weed_id/sonas.htm

There are two other sow thisles that are good for rabbits:
Annual Sow thistle (Sonchus oleraceus)
Perennial Sow-thistle (Sonchus arvensis)
http://www.agf.gov.bc.ca/cropprot/weedguid/sowthist.htm

Until you become well acquainted with the sow thistle family, you may find them confusing, but they are all excellent green feed for rabbits.

 

[Wheels]

I think it must be velvetweed -kinda pretty when it blooms!

No, it's not a sow thistle, it is a true pig weed (looks like redroot) it just has thorns along the stem where the leaves branch out. It's easy to pull when it's small but if you ever let it get mature it's hard to pull and the thorns are close enough together and strong enough that you can't get a good grip on it - I got it and tons of lambsquarters in my yard after buying a huge load of composted horse manure, it's been everywhere since! I was mainly curious if rabbits are ever discouraged by thorns.

 

[MaggieJ]

Hmmm... we have redroot pigweed and I feed it to the rabbits when it is young, but I don't know the spiny kind. Maybe I'm too far north.