Is this plant edible for my Russian?
Edible?
- Thread starter Blakem
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Is this plant edible for my Russian?
Yay, I did not see it in the edible plant section so I wasn't sure. Thank you.
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What is it?
That's a great question. I see them all over the place though. It almost looks like an arugula leaf but this is.a weed
I feed those to my RT all the time.Its a dandelion plant with out a flower.
Blake m said:
Is this plant edible for my Russian?
Well, it is edible, since that picture shows your little guy eating it.
Okay, wise-cracks aside, that is a cool picture, and yes, not only is that plant edible, but it's actually one of the best types of plant for a tortoise to eat. They are plentiful here, too. I give them to my Russians all the time. When I can't find them outside, I buy them at the grocery store, and they love 'em!
That plant is a member of the sunflower family (Russian tortoises' favorites), and it appears to be a strain of the common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale). These plants are perfectly edible for tortoises and humans alike. They are even available as dandelion greens in many stores, such as Natural Grocers. Dandelions are an excellent source of vitamin A, and although they can be rather bitter, tortoises love them. I put them in my salad ... well, the ones I buy, anyway!
BTW - The little clovers growing around the dandelion aren't bad, either, although my Russians don't seem to care for them nearly as much as my redfoot used to.
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Yep, that's edible. It's a dandelion weed. Torts love that.
GeoTerraTestudo said:Blake m said:
Is this plant edible for my Russian?
Well, it is edible, since that picture shows your little guy eating it.
Okay, wise-cracks aside, that is a cool picture, and yes, not only is that plant edible, but it's actually one of the best types of plant for a tortoise to eat. They are plentiful here, too. I give them to my Russians all the time. When I can't find them outside, I buy them at the grocery store, and they love 'em!
That plant is a member of the sunflower family (Russian tortoises' favorites), and it appears to be a strain of the common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale). These plants are perfectly edible for tortoises and humans alike. They are even available as dandelion greens in many stores, such as Natural Grocers. Dandelions are an excellent source of vitamin A, and although they can be rather bitter, tortoises love them. I put them in my salad ... well, the ones I buy, anyway!
BTW - The little clovers growing around the dandelion aren't bad, either, although my Russians don't seem to care for them nearly as much as my redfoot used to.
Just to clear up one point. While you are correct torts love the wild dandelion weeds, very true, mine cannont resist them, and they are good for them, BUT, on another point above, usually the "Dandelion Greens" sold in grocery stores are NOT the dandelions we have grow as weeds in the USA at all. Rather, store bought dandelion greens are usually a member of the chickory family. You can (and I do) grow them from seeds available in garden catalogs.
Both are good for torts to eat, but, while the leaves look similar, the dandelions weeds from your lawn are totally different than store bought dandelion greens.
When you grow dandelion greens, you'll see also they send up a tall flower stalk with many light blue flowers.
Wild dandelions have single yellow flowers.
Hope this clears up some things
JoeImhof said:
Oh, I see! Thank you for clearing that up. Very interesting. In that case, I really wish they would label that produce as "chicory" in the grocery store. Dandelions can be eaten as well, but they are not used as food very often here in the US, although I think they are in their native Eurasia. You would think that changing the name to chicory would make it even more attractive than dandelion. Hmm.
As for the weed pictured above, I think I have to amend my ID of it. It is still quite edible for tortoises and humans alike, and quite healthy (again, rich in vitamin A). And it is a member of the sunflower family (Asteraceae). However, although I thought it was a strain or species of dandelion (Taraxacum sp.), I now think it is in a different genus. I have been watching them grow this season, and unlike dandelions that stay short and sprawling, these plants are developing a stalk and growing fairly tall. I haven't seen their flowers yet, but so far they look like either chicory, as mentioned above (Cichorium intybus), or else some other type of wild or invasive daisy. If it is chicory, then it is in the same genus as endive (Cichorium endiva), which is a good crop for people, and healthy for tortoises. Even if it's not a Cichorium species, it's still a sunflower, and therefore a healthy favorite for tortoises.
JoeImhof said:GeoTerraTestudo said:Blake m said:
Is this plant edible for my Russian?
Well, it is edible, since that picture shows your little guy eating it.
Okay, wise-cracks aside, that is a cool picture, and yes, not only is that plant edible, but it's actually one of the best types of plant for a tortoise to eat. They are plentiful here, too. I give them to my Russians all the time. When I can't find them outside, I buy them at the grocery store, and they love 'em!
That plant is a member of the sunflower family (Russian tortoises' favorites), and it appears to be a strain of the common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale). These plants are perfectly edible for tortoises and humans alike. They are even available as dandelion greens in many stores, such as Natural Grocers. Dandelions are an excellent source of vitamin A, and although they can be rather bitter, tortoises love them. I put them in my salad ... well, the ones I buy, anyway!
BTW - The little clovers growing around the dandelion aren't bad, either, although my Russians don't seem to care for them nearly as much as my redfoot used to.
Just to clear up one point. While you are correct torts love the wild dandelion weeds, very true, mine cannont resist them, and they are good for them, BUT, on another point above, usually the "Dandelion Greens" sold in grocery stores are NOT the dandelions we have grow as weeds in the USA at all. Rather, store bought dandelion greens are usually a member of the chickory family. You can (and I do) grow them from seeds available in garden catalogs.
Both are good for torts to eat, but, while the leaves look similar, the dandelions weeds from your lawn are totally different than store bought dandelion greens.
When you grow dandelion greens, you'll see also they send up a tall flower stalk with many light blue flowers.
Wild dandelions have single yellow flowers.
Hope this clears up some things
Thanks for the post. Does that still mean that it is okay for him to eat? And to clarify, he has never shown interest in any of my weeds growing on his side before. But, I just so happen to leave for a minute or two and came back to him taking a bite.
Okay, I read your response and that concluded my question a minute ago. Thanks again for the input!
GeoTerraTestudo said:JoeImhof said:
Oh, I see! Thank you for clearing that up. Very interesting. In that case, I really wish they would label that produce as "chicory" in the grocery store. Dandelions can be eaten as well, but they are not used as food very often here in the US, although I think they are in their native Eurasia. You would think that changing the name to chicory would make it even more attractive than dandelion. Hmm.
As for the weed pictured above, I think I have to amend my ID of it. It is still quite edible for tortoises and humans alike, and quite healthy (again, rich in vitamin A). And it is a member of the sunflower family (Asteraceae). However, although I thought it was a strain or species of dandelion (Taraxacum sp.), I now think it is in a different genus. I have been watching them grow this season, and unlike dandelions that stay short and sprawling, these plants are developing a stalk and growing fairly tall. I haven't seen their flowers yet, but so far they look like either chicory, as mentioned above (Cichorium intybus), or else some other type of wild or invasive daisy. If it is chicory, then it is in the same genus as endive (Cichorium endiva), which is a good crop for people, and healthy for tortoises. Even if it's not a Cichorium species, it's still a sunflower, and therefore a healthy favorite for tortoises.
I've been watching these things grow over the past few weeks, and I'm thinking they might be shaping up to be a type of thistle ... which are also in the sunflower family, so that would still be good for tortoises.
I really need to figure out what these things are, because they have always been everywhere around here, every since I was a little boy. I had always assumed they were just a type of dandelion, but now that I feed these and other weeds to my tortoises, I realize that they are not the same as the dandelions, and I really want to know what they are.
I really need to figure out what these things are, because they have always been everywhere around here, every since I was a little boy. I had always assumed they were just a type of dandelion, but now that I feed these and other weeds to my tortoises, I realize that they are not the same as the dandelions, and I really want to know what they are.
Whatever we all call them, I have been calling them dandelions and feeding them to all sorts of torts for decades.
Tom said:
Yep, mine like them a lot, too. This weed, like a lot of other wild sunflowers, secretes milky white latex when damaged, which originally gave lettuce its name. But tortoises don't really seem to mind it.
I put betty out in the backyard yesterday in an area that is about to be landscaped. There are a ton of dandelions in there and I didn't let grass get fertilized this year yet. She spent about an hour out there eating her heart out. Schmeckleboy henry didn't eat much and mostly wanted to bake in the sun.
Schmeckleboy henry didn't eat much and mostly wanted to bake in the sun.
Cooper loves the green leafy part of the plant, but he won't even touch the flower at all! Last year he loved it tho. Ophelia still has not ate 1 thing from outside yet, she worries me.
cemmons12 said:
Yeah, my guys aren't crazy about the flower part, either. They like leaves, and they'll also work at the base of a weed.
As for outdoor plants, your tortoise is probably just spoiled by eating sweet, domestic plants.
At the moment Joe will only eat the flowers on dandelions! It'll change and he'll be back on leaves soon, I expect.
It'll change and he'll be back on leaves soon, I expect.
Betty eats both and Henry will eat both but eats his flowers first. You never seen a tortoise move so fast as he does when he gets his eye on a flower
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