Garden chat & photos for torts and people ♫ ♫

[Oxalis]

About red maples. I remember that red maples are toxic to tortoises while ordinary maples aren't. What about red birch ((Betula pubescens f. rubra)? Does anyone know whether it is safe, or what makes red maple toxic compared to the regular maple?

Interesting question. There's only one record of Betula in The Tortoise Table (TTT), which is usually the first place I go when looking up tort plants for food. Moderate consumption of the species in this genus should be OK according to what's been observed so far, although it sounds like there is still a knowledge gap there. Scandinavian peoples have been using B. pubescens in foods for centuries. I just purchased some birch tea and have yet to try it.

Regarding maples in general, TTT wasn't a lot of help beyond mentioning the high sugar content of maple sap. However, their notes specifically on the red maple (Acer rubrum) state that parts of the tree have been observed as being toxic to dogs and livestock, and the identity of the toxin is unknown but has been observed preventing the transport of oxygen in red blood cells. The text in the Plants database I use wasn't extensive, but I did learn that while people have used red maple bark for medicinal purposes, the sap may contain saponins, which can destroy red blood cells. So it may just be the presence of saponins that should give one pause about feeding it to tortoises. I make sure Steve avoids any maple leaves, especially since he has so many other plants that I know are healthy for him.

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

Interesting question. There's only one record of Betula in The Tortoise Table (TTT), which is usually the first place I go when looking up tort plants for food. Moderate consumption of the species in this genus should be OK according to what's been observed so far, although it sounds like there is still a knowledge gap there. Scandinavian peoples have been using B. pubescens in foods for centuries. I just purchased some birch tea and have yet to try it.

Regarding maples in general, TTT wasn't a lot of help beyond mentioning the high sugar content of maple sap. However, their notes specifically on the red maple (Acer rubrum) state that parts of the tree have been observed as being toxic to dogs and livestock, and the identity of the toxin is unknown but has been observed preventing the transport of oxygen in red blood cells. The text in the Plants database I use wasn't extensive, but I did learn that while people have used red maple bark for medicinal purposes, the sap may contain saponins, which can destroy red blood cells. So it may just be the presence of saponins that should give one pause about feeding it to tortoises. I make sure Steve avoids any maple leaves, especially since he has so many other plants that I know are healthy for him.

I was just wondering whether the presence of saponins is somehow connected with the red gene. Thank you for your answer! Birch has also been used for food here in Finland As far as I know, the red birch tree was found in nature here in Finland and after that an university has started to cultivate it as a garden plant, and we have one in the neighborhood. I will not feed it to Edward though, just in case. I was wondering if it was edible, so I could bring a bigger variety of colors and plants for him.

 

[Oxalis]

I was just wondering whether the presence of saponins is somehow connected with the red gene. Thank you for your answer! Birch has also been used for food here in Finland As far as I know, the red birch tree was found in nature here in Finland and after that an university has started to cultivate it as a garden plant, and we have one in the neighborhood. I will not feed it to Edward though, just in case. I was wondering if it was edible, so I could bring a bigger variety of colors and plants for him.

Absolutely. I should use my library science degree at some point...

In regards to color, I don't think there is any connection between plants that we've labeled "red." This was probably just the easiest way to differentiate between species, which further complicates matters when several species share the same common name. 😩 Instead, look at the genera and families of the plants for more information on their safety as tortoise food.

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

Absolutely. I should use my library science degree at some point...

In regards to color, I don't think there is any connection between plants that we've labeled "red." This was probably just the easiest way to differentiate between species, which further complicates matters when several species share the same common name. 😩 Instead, look at the genera and families of the plants for more information on their safety as tortoise food.

Yeah, and I wouldn't say that the re birch is red, it is more like a purple brown in my opinion. The Finnish wikipedia says "Red birch (Betula pubescens f. rubra) is a special mutated form of downy birch (Betula pubescens). " So, I guess it should be safe? It has mutated in the wild.

 

[Oxalis]

Yeah, and I wouldn't say that the re birch is red, it is more like a purple brown in my opinion. The Finnish wikipedia says "Red birch (Betula pubescens f. rubra) is a special mutated form of downy birch (Betula pubescens). " So, I guess it should be safe? It has mutated in the wild.

Could offer it and see if your tortoise is interested. I've never offered birch to my tortoise so I wonder how palatable it is.

If you want to get super nerdy on binomial nomenclature, for the red birch species (Betula pubescens f. rubra), f. = form and rubra = red, meaning that there have been sporadic red variations observed within the Betula pubescens species, but they're not quite a subspecies. I guess this is similar to a variety, e.g., Pinus contorta var. latifolia (lodgepole pine), but some taxonomists consider varieties more synonymous with subspecies? Sounds like it depends on who you ask.

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

I will try offering it some day. I haven't offered regular birch either, so maybe I will try offering it first as a control group. I know birches have a bit stronger smell, but I think that the red color might encourage my tortoise to eat it?