Native Plants
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Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?
A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.
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Monday - March 19, 2007
From: west palm beach, FL
Region: Southeast
Topic: Non-Natives
Title: Toxicity of non-native, invasive Wedelia trilobata
Answered by: Damon Waitt
QUESTION:
Could you tell me if Wedelia trilobata is toxic to animals? It grows so voraciously where I am that I am wanting to use the whole plant to feed to my large tortoises (who are also voracious for edible plant material).ANSWER:
Wedelia trilobata commonly known as Wedelia, Creeping Ox-eye or Yellow-dots is a native of South America and has been widely planted as an ornamental groundcover in more tropical parts of the US. According to Floridata and several other credible websites, plants in the Genus Wedelia are toxic to animals. In fact, Farm animals have aborted fetuses after grazing on Wedelia.
Do not, I repeat, do not under any circumstances feed it to your tortoises!!!
In addition, Wedelia trilobata often becomes an aggressive nuisance in the landscape and is cited widely as an invasive species. If you do have this non-native species in your garden, you might consider removing it before it gets out of control.
More Non-Natives Questions
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Pruning blue potato tree (Lycianthus rantonnei)
July 14, 2008 - I wrote earlier about a blue potato tree(Lycianthus rantonnei) the top appears dead but if you break a branch it is still green, what would happen to it if I cut all the branches forming at the bottom...
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Removing non-native juniperus x pfitzeriana in Arvada CO
June 25, 2009 - We have 200' of large juniper pfitzers (3' tall - 4' wide) that completely enclose our front yard. We want to remove all of them but the estimates to dispose of them have been extremely high. One...
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Removing St. Augustine, replacing with native plants
October 06, 2007 - Hello Mr. Smarty Plants, always excited to talk to the Green Guru himself. I've recently purchased a house in South Austin and am interested in establishing a small, 500+ sq ft, prairie grass and wi...
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Absence of blooms in non-native Rosa rugosa
June 30, 2008 - I have a rosa rugosa in my yard that was here when I moved in..and it has never bloomed. It is in a sunny spot, but there are never any flowers..not even a single bud on this trailing plant. I cut it ...
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