# Ornamental Cabbage aka Flowering Kale...is it safe?



## StarSapphire22 (Oct 10, 2013)

Was at my local home improvement stores today picking up things for my new enclosure. In the garden center they had Ornamental Cabbage (plant tag says flowering kale)...looks just like kale leaves. There's no scientific name anywhere. Is it safe to plant in my enclosure? It was just a couple bucks so I picked one up, but I can't find much about it online. Anyone know about this stuff?


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## wellington (Oct 10, 2013)

This is what is said about cabbage http://m.thetortoisetable.org.uk/m/plants_19.asp?catID=621
This is what is said about kale
http://m.thetortoisetable.org.uk/m/plants_19.asp?catID=529

I personally would not feed.


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## StarSapphire22 (Oct 10, 2013)

I wouldnt be "feeding" it, I just want to plant it. If he takes a nibble now and then, I want to know that this plant is safe. If he goes to town on it, I'll take it out so he can have a more balanced diet. The fact that it says ornamental makes me nervous, but I know tortoises can eat all sorts of things mammals can't, so I figured I'd check before sticking it in there. It looks more like kale than cabbage. I'll see if I can get a picture. 

I'll also be supplementing with cuttlebone, which if I remember correctly from an article here, helps with the potential negative effects of cabbages.


Heres a pic.


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## wellington (Oct 10, 2013)

I did not hear of the article you mentioned about the cuttlebone and kale, hmmm. Maybe google it and see if its really considered a kale or a cabbage? I think it's more a cabbage then kale. But not sure.


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## StarSapphire22 (Oct 10, 2013)

http://gardening.about.com/od/plantprofile1/p/Orn_Cabbage.htm

Found this. Looks like mine is kale and edible. But I don't know if it will do well in a warm tort enclosure. Looks like it prefers cooler temps.


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