What is this?

[ariusshadow]

It grows wild here, and I'm not sure what it is. Not sure if my buns should touch it... But they seem to be finding it a bit in our yard. =\

I'm sorry that the picture's not clear. But you can see the general shape of the leaf. And the outers are sometime purple.

 

[ariusshadow]

Anyone know? ._.

 

[Hazel-Mom]

Can you tell me what the rest of the plant looks like? A picture of the whole plant would help.

 

[Hazel-Mom]

Untill it is identified, I wouldn't let your buns near it though.
Just from the leaves, it looks like it could be from the "wild carrot" family. Wild carrot is also known as Queen Anne's Lace. However, that family also contains some very poisonous plants, like Poison Hemlock.
Even if it's the safe(er) wild carrot, you still have to watch out. The sap can cause
phytophotodermatitis in susceptible individuals.

Of course, it could be something else still. It's very difficult to identify a plant just from a picture of part of the plant. If you have a picture of the whole plant, that would be more helpful. Also, what color are the flowers, where does it grow (damp areas, dry, shade, sun....), does the plant give off any smell, etc...

 

[ariusshadow]

Part? You misunderstand.. This IS the whole plant. There's nothing but this. No flowers, no stalks, just this. I can try to take a clearer picture outside of how it grows.. But this is all there is. o.o
Hazel, as far as smell, there isn't one. And the stuff grows in places that seem to have a bit more shade, but I wouldn't personally count it as a 'shade-growing' plant.. I'll try to get a better picture, though...

 

[Hazel-Mom]

Ah, it's probably still "young and growing" if that's all there is.
Have you lived in the same area for some time? If so, you may have seen it at other times of the year as well. Does it get flowers? How tall does it grow? Any description like that would help.
(My name is Hilde, BTW, Hazel is my bunny )

 

[ariusshadow]

Okay... My camera had issues with focusing but I think I got some better pictures.

The "trunk" is fuzzy, but the rest of the plant isn't. Sometimes the outer parts of the leaves are purple-ish in color. I've seen fern, but I'm more accustomed to the idea of fern being.. larger. So to me, this doesn't look like fern... But fern, and a mix of herbs come to my mind when I see this plant, which is why I was curious... Because I know a lot of herbs out there are good for buns.

On a side note, since I was getting pictures of the other plant outside, I finally took a picture of another plant I was always curious about.
Anyone know what this is or if it's safe for buns to munch? The flowers are always falling off and laying around the front yard. They can't get any unless I gave some to them, so they're not in danger of getting a hold of any. I'm just wondering. I know it's a fairly common plant, so I'm pretty sure someone on here will know the name of it.

 

[mistyjr]

It reminds me of Wild Parsley...

 

[ariusshadow]

mistyjr wrote:

It reminds me of Wild Parsley...

I know! This is why I asked, though. Because it LOOKS like it might be safe... But I don't know. It looks like a lot of different herbs. And it also looks like it might be fern or something. But I don't know what some herbs look like... So I don't know if it's what I think it is. ._. It might just be a weed. x.x;

 

[Hazel-Mom]

That looks like an old garden plot. Did you ever grow carrots in there? Because that's what they look like to me... carrot greens
And yes, they can show up in unexpected places in your yard... especially if they have ever been left to go to seed.

Or as I mentioned, they could be "wild" carrot, aka Queen Anne's Lace. Or if the stems are hollow, it could be wild parsley (aka cow parsley or wild chervil).

Your flowering plant looks like a Viburnum, maybe Viburnum carlesii.
Does this description sound anything like it? http://www.hcs.ohio-state.edu/hcs/TMI/Plantlist/vi_lesii.html

 

[mistyjr]

We have some of that growing around here too.

 

[ariusshadow]

Now, if they're carrot greens, theoretically speaking, if I were to pull them up to look at the root, would we be able to tell if that's what they are? Or is that not as effective with the wild carrots?

I'm almost 95% positive this is not QAL. I've seen that ever since I was a child, and I know how it grows... Unless you're not speaking of the kind that grows into tall white flowers, often confused with yarrow, this is not QAL.

As for the flower-ball plant, I found a better picture of it here:

And of course, the website I found this on, actually stated "I'm afraid I don't know the exact name of the plant, but most people I know call it the 'Snowball plant'." I used this to go find some stuff on it. Yes, it turns out you were quite close. It's a type of Viburnum. Which one is up for discussion, since all the types I'm running into look so close to each other. >< I'll try to wiki it to find some more info on which one we may have.

I'm assuming, that since this is a name of a plant I haven't heard of, chances are, it's not safe for the buns?

 

[ariusshadow]

I think what I came up with is Viburnum Plicatum. Since, a lot of the images that come up with that search don't look like it... But it's the only one that comes up with *some* that look like it. xD Gotta love Google.
"Japanese SnowBall Plant" for the most part...

 

[Hazel-Mom]

yes, if they are carrot greens, you should see a carrot if you pull them up. Wild carrot is another name for QAL, so if you're sure it's not QAL, it's not wild carrot.

Viburnum plicatum could well be it, there are a few Viburnums that are snowball plants.
But your rabbit should be safe with an occasional nibble, viburnums are generally considered non-toxic.

 

[ariusshadow]

That's weird... I've never heard of QAL mentioned as wild carrot before... And I've been told that it's poisonous to rabbits. o.o; From someone on RO, actually. I asked about QAL once before- to see if it was safe or not. I know yarrow is and the two are similar, so I asked. They said one site they found said to give it to baby bunnies. While another site they found said it was poison. ._.;

I'll go give it a look see tomorrow to see if I can pull up a carrot. o.o But there *is* QAL across the street from us. And it's already bloomed... If this stuff hasn't yet, I'd assume it isn't QAl, but I'm not sure.

As for the snowball, thanks for the info. I'll have to see if any of my buns are interested in it.

 

[LV426]

There are two different types of "wild carrot". One is Queen Anne's Lace which is edible to bunnies. Another type of wild carrot isn't really a carrot but is actually Hemlock.

Wild carrot’s small white root is edible and carroty-smelling, and the seeds are used in the treatment of certain urinary problems. Most wild carrot flowers (also known as Queen Anne’s lace) have a single purple or maroon floret in the very center. However, the plant resembles poison hemlock, distinguished by an unpleasant odor and purple splotches on the stem. Both plants have leaves with slender, feathery leaflets. Because you can die from eating poison hemlock, which shuts down the central nervous system and was used to kill Socrates, beginning foragers should not even consider harvesting wild carrot. (Poison hemlock is unrelated to the evergreen tree known as hemlock, whose needles can be used to make a healing tea.) Wild carrot flowers in summer, while poison hemlock flowers in spring.

Read more at Suite101: The Parsley Family: From wild carrot to poison hemlock http://plant-species.suite101.com/article.cfm/the_parsley_family#ixzz0pUC747eT

 

[Hazel-Mom]

LV426 wrote:

There are two different types of "wild carrot". One is Queen Anne's Lace which is edible to bunnies. Another type of wild carrot isn't really a carrot but is actually Hemlock.

Well, not exactly. Only Queen Anne's Lace is wild carrot, Daucus carota. The other wild carot is Daucus pusillus, American wild carrot aka rattlesnake weed (the other, QAL, was originally native to Europe and Asia, but is naturalised in America).
Poison hemlock (Conium maculatum) is not a wild carrot. It is in the same family as Daucus, the Apiaceae, but a different genus.
They do however look a lot alike, and so it is imperative to know exactly what you are picking.
But, even with QAL (wild carrot), you have to be carefull. The root is edible, when it is young, but the leaves can cause phytophotodermatitis (inflammatory eruption resulting from contact with light-sensitizing botanical substances). Not all people react to the chemicals in the leaves, and it varies in severity. Still, it's better to be carefull. It can affect rabbits and other animals in the same way.