Weed ID check (Baby Russian tort)

[Sarducci]

Want to check the identity and tort safety of the four most common weeds in my yard.


no idea:


pretty sure this is a dandelion variety:


Also no idea:

Some kinda clover?

 

[WithLisa]

1. probably Chelidonium - toxic!
2. dandelion
3. no idea. Maybe viola, but that's just a guess without seeing the flowers...
4. clover

 

[Yvonne G]

#4 is burr clover. It's edible, but I've found that my tortoises don't eat it unless they have to.

 

[Sarducci]

Great info guys, thanks. I will dig up the Chelidonium and seed the area where it was growing with purslane and plantain seeds instead I'll keep an eye on the maybe viola and take another pic if it puts out a flower. There are definitely things I think are wild violets that come up on the lawn later in the spring, too.

 

[Sarducci]

One more. Weed 1A is the plant identified as the toxic Chelidonium above. Weed 1B is a thing I was pulling up while weeding as at a glance I thought it was the same, but it clearly isn't--darker green and rounder leaves.
1A:


1B

 

[johnsonnboswell]

1b is garlic mustard. Very invasive. Very very invasive in the US. It's edible by humans, can be used as pesto or food flavoring. Deer won't touch it, it has no benefits to wildlife. Pull it & bag or burn it, but don't worry about its toxicity.

 

[WithLisa]

I would say 1A is Chelidonium, but if you want to make sure, look if it contains a yellow/orange liquid (I don't know the English word for this...).

1b is garlic mustard. Very invasive. Very very invasive in the US. It's edible by humans, can be used as pesto or food flavoring. Deer won't touch it, it has no benefits to wildlife. Pull it & bag or burn it, but don't worry about its toxicity.

I didn't know this was a problem in the USA. Well, at least torts love it.

 

[Sarducci]

Definitely yellow orange inside the steps (probably "sap" is the right word for it). I'll dig up as much as I can find.

So torts will eat the garlic mustard? or harmless but probably rejected?

Meriwether is really enjoying the fresh dandelion I've brought in today.

 

[WithLisa]

I had some garlic mustard in my enclosure last year, but not for long, the torts really liked it.

 

[johnsonnboswell]

Garlic mustard has no natural predators in the US. It is harmful to one species of butterfly caterpillar. (Or some insect like that) It drives out native plants that provide food to native wildlife. It's the first green thing in the woods in very early spring and the last to die in the fall, with the shortest resting period.