Just wondering if anybody knows if it’s ok to feed my Horsefield leaves from a Rowan tree?
And the small red berries that are now falling from it constantly!!
Not sure about the leaves being edible/safe or even adding anything of nutritional value (other than variety). Of course, we’ve all seen birds eat the fruit, but again, not sure if it’s something you would want to pick quantities of and feed. A seed here and there while a tort scavenges about is different than feeding. /See TortTable info below /
Rowan Tree Info: The best-known species is the European rowan Sorbus aucuparia, a small tree typically 4–12 m tall growing in a variety of habitats throughout northern Europe and in mountains in southern Europe and southwest Asia. Its berries are a favourite food for many birds and are a traditional wild-collected food in Britain and Scandinavia. Wikipedia
The Tort Table -
Common Name: Mountain Ash (Rowan)
Latin Name:Sorbus aucuparia; S. americana; S. glabrescens; S. cashmiriana
Family Name: Rosaceae
The leaves of the Mountain Ash are said by most sources to be edible, but one source says that the seeds contain tannins as well as a cyanogenic glycoside, which produces the extremely poisonous prussic acid when it comes into contact with water. As with most food variety is the key, and so we recommend that you feed the leaves of this plant sparingly, and never feed the berries.
Although most species have white flowers, they can sometimes be found in cream.
The Mountain Ash is closely related to the Whitebeam, but do not confuse with the Ash (Fraxinus spp.) tree, which is completely different.
Ok thanks
Was just purely for variety
Got lots of weeds growing/cut for the tort to tuck into. This tree is literally
Just outside my garden that’s why I asked
Thankyou