# wild plants for bunnies



## Teri (Jan 13, 2003)

does anyone know if yarrow, hop clover and/or jewelweed are edible for rabbits? there's tons of all three around here and it would be nice if they were useful somehow.


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## MaggieJ (Feb 6, 2006)

I feed yarrow two or three times a week in moderate quantities mixed with other greens. I don't know what you mean by hop clover (what's the botanical name?) and I simply don't know about the safety of jewelweed. I'll try to find out though.


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## Ninn (Oct 28, 2006)

isn't hop clover that low, white clover that's all over the yard all the time? that's what it looks like in photos.


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## Bonnie L (May 11, 2002)

I give my buns treats of yarrow & lots of white & yellow clover. Anyone know about St. Johns wort? I've got way too much of it.


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

NO, NO, NO on St John's wort! From what I have read it is highly toxic to rabbits.


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## MaggieJ (Feb 6, 2006)

The Handbook of Edible Weeds by James A. Duke says that deer and rabbits graze the foliage of jewelweed and I found a couple other references to cottontail rabbits eating it as well. The botanical name for jewelweed is _Impatiens capensis_.

This site 
http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Impatiens+capensis
says it is fairly high in calcium oxalate, which could cause kidney stones in rabbits if fed in large quantities over a period of time. So again, moderation and a good mix of plants seems to be the way to go. Rabbits are nibblers... a leaf or two of this, a bite or two of that and then on to the next. We need to consider this when feeding greens because we are doing the choosing for the rabbits.


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## o&itw (Dec 19, 2008)

Teri,

Maggie has a great thread (see top of rabbit page) 
"Draft safe plants list for rabbits" or something along those lines. It contains a list that she has compiled of certain plants that have been verified as being safe for rabbits.

Only so much stock (whether pro or con) can be put in books, or in a report from one persons experience since there are so many factors involved. 
This thread gives a list of plants that multiple persons have found OK, plus there are discussions on plants not yet on that list to see what is working for everyone.

Even then, some rabbits will like a certain plant, and others won't, even though the plant is safe. Many of us have yards full of "white clover", dandelions, plantain, etc. which are all safe and nutritious for rabbits. I have fed white clover (the Alsic and Ladino varieties) and red clover extensively to all my rabbits. It is nutritious, and all of them like it. Of the "standard" clovers, the only one that I know that you should not feed is "sweet" clover which contains high levels of coumarin (Google Image to see what it looks like)

Something which grows commonly in the yard that you might confuse with clover is Oxalis. The common variety in yards has smaller leaves and little "buttercup" flowers. There is a little indent at the end of the leaf instead of a tip (most "shamrocks" and wood sorrel are species of oxalis). While it is not poisoness, the leaves are highly acidic and not good for rabbits.

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.missouriplants.com/Yellowalt/Oxalis_stricta_plant.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.missouriplants.com/Yellowalt/Oxalis_stricta_page.html&usg=__vAccduD3bfHIbB3uYX9dtC87RVo=&h=550&w=544&sz=99&hl=en&start=1&tbnid=H_TWzbAhMVFJSM:&tbnh=133&tbnw=132&prev=/images%3Fq%3Doxalis%2Bstricta%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG


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## Bonnie L (May 11, 2002)

Danaus29 said:


> NO, NO, NO on St John's wort! From what I have read it is highly toxic to rabbits.


I thank you & my bunnies thank you! :bow:


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## MaggieJ (Feb 6, 2006)

Both the *DRAFT Safe Plants* sticky and the *Natural Feeding* sticky have a lot of information. If this subject appeals to anyone, reading these threads is a very good idea. We have input from many members.

Because there are hundreds of plants that can be fed, it can get confusing. I suggest the best approach for anyone new to green feeding is to familiarize yourself with the plants on your property. Learn their botanical names and double-check their identities. Learn about their properties and cautions. Start green feeding with the very familiar: dandelions, plantain, white or red clover etc. and progress from there. There are no shortcuts!


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## Teri (Jan 13, 2003)

what i mean by hop clover (i don't know if i'm using the best name for it) is _Trifolium_ sp. the plants are low and sprawling with little yellowish flowers.


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## MaggieJ (Feb 6, 2006)

Unfortunately, there are many, many species of *trifolium *, so I can't be sure which one you mean. Botanical nmaes have two parts and trifolium is only the first. Sp. just means species. 

Most _trifolium_ species are safe for rabbits in moderation. Avoid white or yellow sweet clover, _Melilotus officinalis_ (it grows tall and the blossoms have a sweet, baby-powder scent) as mentioned above. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melilotus_officinalis

Once you have a botanical (Latin) name for a plant, use that to google for more information. It's amazing how much you can find on each plant!


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## Guest (Jul 2, 2009)

Thanks for info on the Oxalis. I did think this was clover. I haven't fed it, but did see it in the woods and thought it was another variety of clover. I know pretty much everything in my yard, but there's tons of stuff in the woods/fields that I see and want to know what it is. I once even picked some stuff and brought it home to investigate what it was. When I was in Jr. High, I can remember our teacher giving us small branches from trees and then these flow charts that you could follow to determine what type of tree it was just by looking at the leaves, direction of growth, veins, etc. I thought I could surely find something like this online, but I've had no luck. What do you do in this case?

I've read both of those stickies and they are overwhelming with info. Read them several times!


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## MaggieJ (Feb 6, 2006)

Here's a pretty good site for Ohio:

http://www.oardc.ohio-state.edu/weedguide/listall.asp


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## o&itw (Dec 19, 2008)

Most all areas have at least one book tittled something along the lines of 
"A Flora of [fill in state name]" or "A Flora of the Snake River Valley" etc.
The local librararies almost always have a couple, and they are usually on sale in bookstores around universities. 

They have the kind of "keys" of which you speak, some books may even be tittled that way, ie "A Key to the Flora of Southern Illinois" The problem one finds with them is that one must be fairly well versed in descriptive botanical terms like "dentate" and "obovate", and they often don't differenatiate between common and rare variaties. There is a forum on down the main HT page where one can inquire..and often get good guidance (and sometimes atrocious guesses) but if one gets close, then they can Google to find exactly what plant it is. 

It also sometimes is a help, to go to the top of the main Google page and highlight "images" instead of "Web" and look through the pictures for what you are wanting. There was a weed I was curious about today, that I had been give a common name for as a child (that turned out to be outrageously incorrect) When I searched for the weed on Google immages, I recognized the weed they were showing and realized that it was totaly unrelated to the weed on which I was seeking information. I finally ended up calling the Conservation Department, who was able to give me the general catagory of the plant I was describing..... back to Google Images...then to Google (web)and I now have the information I was seeking.


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## Teri (Jan 13, 2003)

Since I'm having trouble narrowing the clover down to individual species I guess it's probably safest just not to feed it at all. another plant I ran into when I was looking up hop clover is black medic (Medicago lupulina) which looks almost exactly the same, so there's more confusion. i do have books on edible wild plants but of course it's for people, and i guess just because people can eat it doesnt mean rabbits should.  has anyone ever tried feeding crown vetch (coronilla varia)?
so wood sorrel isn't good for rabbits? too bad, there's lots of that too!


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## a7736100 (Jun 4, 2009)

Is corn husk good for rabbits. They seem to like eating it.


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## MaggieJ (Feb 6, 2006)

As long as it hasn't been treated with pesticides or other chemicals, corn husks and stalks are safe for rabbits.


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## Guest (Jul 3, 2009)

Thanks for the info and sites, guys!


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## MaggieJ (Feb 6, 2006)

Teri said:


> Since I'm having trouble narrowing the clover down to individual species I guess it's probably safest just not to feed it at all. another plant I ran into when I was looking up hop clover is black medic (Medicago lupulina) which looks almost exactly the same, so there's more confusion. i do have books on edible wild plants but of course it's for people, and i guess just because people can eat it doesnt mean rabbits should.  has anyone ever tried feeding crown vetch (coronilla varia)?
> so wood sorrel isn't good for rabbits? too bad, there's lots of that too!


The most common clovers are red, white and black medic and these can all be fed to rabbits. Black medic is most easily identified once it goes to seed: the seeds are black. This site has some good pictures of these three plus bird's foot trefoil, another clover relative:

http://urbpan.livejournal.com/tag/legumes

It's always easier to learn to identify with confidence a dozen or two species of plants and feed those to the buns than to try to identify everything.


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## laughaha (Mar 4, 2008)

You shouldn't feed Yarrow to pregnant rabbits..... I use Yarrow for pretty much EVERYTHING (love LOVE love Yarrow), but there are reports that Yarrow can cause miscarriages in women. I haven't seen literature stating that it could cause miscarriage in rabbits, but then I haven't seen anything about yarrow as a medicinal herb for animals. 

I do feed yarrow, but I do it sparingly, mixed with other greens and never to Cindy Lu when she is pregnant. 

Yarrow is good for: colds, sniffles, wounds, coagulating blood, etc. I use it on me and my family and my animals for the above. My husband has some weird blood disorder and has to take coumadin to thin his blood, Yarrow even works really well when he gets a cut and it won't stop bleeding. Also helps to keep wounds from getting infected.


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## arachyd (Feb 1, 2009)

When I have absolutely no clue as to what the name or family of a plant might be I get comfy with a cup of tea at the pc and start googling descriptive words like, "toothed leaves square stem hairy tall blue flowers". I do an image search with the basic words that describe the plant. When the images come up I have a good chance of recognizing the plant. If I see it I click on it to get a name and then do a search on the name and see if other sites have the same plant in their pics to be sure of its identity. It actually works pretty well.


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## MaggieJ (Feb 6, 2006)

arachyd said:


> When I have absolutely no clue as to what the name or family of a plant might be I get comfy with a cup of tea at the pc and start googling descriptive words like, "toothed leaves square stem hairy tall blue flowers". I do an image search with the basic words that describe the plant. When the images come up I have a good chance of recognizing the plant. If I see it I click on it to get a name and then do a search on the name and see if other sites have the same plant in their pics to be sure of its identity. It actually works pretty well.


Excellent! :goodjob: I'll have to try that!


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