Forage help!!

I'm not planning on feeding this but there is lots of it in the field outside. Lots of plantain is growing in between it.

I seem to think this could be hemlock (although there is a lot of cow parsley about too).

If it is hemlock, how poisonous is it? Are the plantains immediately in contact with it ok? Sorry if this sounds a little hysterical but I know hemlock is deadly.

Thanks in advance.




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Cow parsley, fools cicely/sweet cicely and hemlock all look similar. Cow parsley has a green furrowed stem, hairy at the base but smooth further up. When crushed, the stems just smell of plants! Fools cicely/sweet cicely has hairy stems and smells of aniseed when the stems are crushed. Hemlock has smooth, purple spotted stems and has an offensive 'mousey' smell when crushed.

I don't think plantain will be contaminated by growing near to hemlock BUT if I was sure it WAS hemlock, I personally wouldn't pick anything from the same area, just in case.

Hmmmm, I've taken some close ups of the young leaves and a couple of the big plants. Where I'm standing on a leaf, it's to show the stem.















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It is confusing identifying plants which all have those little white flowers in an umbrella shape.
Stay away from leaves that look like a fern style shape. So the first 5 pics i would stay away from in terms of forage. But the last two pics show hogweed which is yummy for bunnies.

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Thanks both for your help!

I'm learning but still cautious!:wave:

I thought hogweed was poisoness?

Hogweed is defo not poisonous. The common kind. The giant hogweed though is poisonous but usually grows around waterways, plus are huge and over 6ft tall, while common hogweed grow at most to 4ft, so they are quite distinguishable by their height.

Hemlock is poisonous and similar in appearance, but can be identified by dark purple colour spots on their stem.

Fools parsley or aka cows parsley, are another similar white umbrella flower plant but those are the fern type leaves and should be avoided.

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It's all so complicated why can't they all just be completely different!