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Weed ID help please

JessBun

JessBun

Mama Doe
Have a ton of both of these - the first two pictures are one species which has started taking over the lawn. At first I thought it was dandelion, but it's definitely not as it has hairy leaves :? It's overtook the dandelion. The second I was thinking Herb Robert? Whatever it is, the bees love it :love:

Thank you x







 
I think the first one is Bristly Oxtongue. Check an online ID with your specimen as there are several that look similar. It is apparently OK to feed to rabbits, but I have not done so. The bristles on the leaves might put them off.

The second one is certainly Herb Robert. Yes, the bees do love it and so do my rabbits :) A plant to encourage in the garden :)

Btw Have you got the foraging book "Foraging for Rabbits" by Twigs Way (Parsnipbun on here). If not I would recommend it. It is available from the RWAF shop.
 
Omi said:
The second one is certainly Herb Robert. Yes, the bees do love it and so do my rabbits :) A plant to encourage in the garden :)

Btw Have you got the foraging book "Foraging for Rabbits" by Twigs Way (Parsnipbun on here). If not I would recommend it. It is available from the RWAF shop.
Click to expand...

Lovely pictures to ID from. Agree with Omi on all points. Deffo get the book. Well worth it and very easy to use.

Not sure about the first plant - if it looks like a dandelion, it's usually OK (though that's not very scientific). Description fits Oxtongue in the book - which is OK for rabbits but they may not eat it due to the hairy leaves.

Second one is Herb Robert. OK for rabbits.
 
Thank you both :wave:

Well I tried him with the herb robert and he sturned his nose up at it :lol: What a fussbun :lol: We do have a lot of it at the side of the garden, growing neatly along the hedge. That's our little 'bee haven'! :love: So maybe I can try drying it out and offering, seeing if he prefers it then. :D

The first weed does look very similar to oxtongue, on all the ones I've seen in the garden though it doesn't have nodules on the leaves, which a lot of the images online seem to have? I've had a wee look online as suggested - and to me it looks exactly like cat's ear, in the following link

https://completegarden.files.wordpress.com/2008/07/smooth-cats-ear-hypochaeris-glabra1.jpg

What do you think? If it is cats ear, is it safe? Thanks again for your time (Mickey thanks you too!) :wave:
 
I'm amazed that Mickey doesn't like Herb Robert :lol: Ah well, all the more for the bees :thumb:

I've been looking again at your other specimen. It does look similar to Cat's Ear. In my ID book it describes Cat's Ear stems as being hairless, so that could be something to check. Another possibility is Rough Hawkbit, if the stems are hairy. The whole group are very similar and it's easier to distinguish between them if you have the specimen in the hand.

Any Hawkbeard or Hawkweed is OK for rabbits according to the foraging book and whilst Cat's Ear is not specifically mentioned I would feel happy giving it to my rabbits.
 
merae said:
Hi :)

For me, the first it was dandelion, so i give to my rabbits like the 'true' dandelion.
I don't know the second, but my rabbits loves "bear paws" :


its the french encyclopedia of rabbits : http://www.margueritecie.com/cueillette.php
Click to expand...

Hi, yes my rabbits love "bear paws" too :D. What a wonderful name :love: I've never heard it called that. I know it only by its proper common name, which is Common Hogweed here.

Thank you for the link too. The more references we have the better :thumb:
 
Tried him again tonight with herb robert and it's a no go, he much prefers dandelions! :lol: Shame I don't know anyone near with buns, they'd be welcome to mountains of it! :D

Yes the stems are hairless. Thanks again so much for your help - I've given the cat's ear to him and he absolutely loves it :love: It must be similar to dandelions then, cos he doesn't touch much else :roll:

Oh I checked out that book (was expecting it to be well over a tenner) and it's very reasonably priced so I'll pick one up at some point, thanks! :thumb:


Omi said:
I'm amazed that Mickey doesn't like Herb Robert :lol: Ah well, all the more for the bees :thumb:

I've been looking again at your other specimen. It does look similar to Cat's Ear. In my ID book it describes Cat's Ear stems as being hairless, so that could be something to check. Another possibility is Rough Hawkbit, if the stems are hairy. The whole group are very similar and it's easier to distinguish between them if you have the specimen in the hand.

Any Hawkbeard or Hawkweed is OK for rabbits according to the foraging book and whilst Cat's Ear is not specifically mentioned I would feel happy giving it to my rabbits.
Click to expand...
 
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