ID these trees /weed please, on my new paddock

CobSunshine

CobSunshine

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I finally have some land of my own and part of it includes a small paddock, I want to ID the weeds and tree's on here to make it as safe as possible.


small tree 1

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small tree 2 (horse loves this, but kept him away from it until I know what it is, you can see the snap mark where he bit an entire branch off LOL)
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small tree 3 (same as 2 i think)
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what are these flowers?
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a bit further down the paddock think this is same as 2?
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large tree at end, sorry no closer pics
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weed 1 dug up 100+ of these
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weed 2 pulled out 100+ of these, red base and pull out really easy, quite satisfying LOL
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The flowers are foxgloves. Super poisonous i think??
Looks like you've got a few oak trees to be, but i may be wrong. Ic they are oak, they'll need fencing off when the acorns fall. Maybe even fence them off anyway if your horse is eating them as i think the leaves can be toxic in large doses too.
 
1 Beech, harmless
2 Oak, not good for them to eat but unlikely to be a problem if they nibble at it, be careful when acorns are about.
3 The pretty purple flower, Foxglove, extremely poisonous, carefully remove all traces before allowing a horse in the field.
4 Docks, harmless but annoying they grow vigorously.
 
Tree 1 looks like Silver birch - not poisonous.
Tree 2 - oak - poisonous, particularly the acorns.
Tree 3 does not look like tree 2 to me, could be lime/whitebeam/beech, probably best to look these up and check against your trees, allthough none of these are poisonous afaik.
Flower 1 is foxglove, not exactly poisonous but dangerous as contains digitalis - can affect the heart, although usually horses do not touch it.
Last flower is Indian balsam, not poisonous.


ETA, difficult to identify plants from odd perspective, sometimes depends on size of leaf.
 
Ok

Tree 1 looks like Hazel

Tree 2 looks like oak and it is poisonous at certain times of the year...spring/autumn....some horses also find it addictive

Tree 3 again looks like oak

Flowers look like Foxglove, poisonous but horses usually avoid it.

Weeds look like docks

Don't know the big tree or bottom plant :o
 
Beech and Oak, try and avoid the oak. Can't see what the tree in the distance is. Foxglove is poisonous (digitalis) but not usually eaten by horses. Docks, that you pulled up, not dangerous but take up room for grass. The indian/himalayan balsam is not a danger, but does indicate that you are in a wet/marshy area and may get problems from midges and from over wet land. Also if land is wet keep an eye out for other marsh plants which may not be good for the horses.
 
Tree 1: Not hazel, which has rounded leaves without the point. Could be elm or possibly lime. None are harmful.

Trees 2 and 3: Oak. Can be poisonous, also the acorns. Just be careful they don't eat too much.

Flower 1: Foxglove. Poisonous but seldom eaten by livestock as they don't taste very nice!

Tree below foxglove -- now that IS hazel! Compare with No. 1 and see the difference. The leaves are quite rounded with no point.

Large tree: Oak again.

Dock like weed: Sorrel I think. Not poisonous.

Don't know the last one -- some foreign invader!

I don't think you have anything to worry except maybe a horse gorging itself on oak leaves or acorns if a large branch fell off the tree and the horse was starving.
 
Agree with Dry Rot on IDs

Re the Indian (also known as Himalayan) Balsam, it can be very invasive so if the amount is manageable and despite its prettiness, I would be trying to get rid. At one point people were warned about it in the same breath as Japanese knotweed, but it is now a bit less so. It is as invasive but it isnt as damaging as knotweed (which can break concrete!).But it does smother all other plants and spread quickly so best to get rid.
 
Ok I have a 1st class honours degree in conservation so if I don't know these I should be srtipped of my title!!

1. Hazel
2. Oak
3. Fox glove

Weed 1. Dock
Weedd 2. Rosebay willow herb

You large standard looks to me like another oak but difficult to see from photos.

I am not great on if they are poisonous to equines or not.
 
TJ&Ozzie said:
Ok I have a 1st class honours degree in conservation so if I don't know these I should be srtipped of my title!!

1. Hazel
2. Oak
3. Fox glove

Weed 1. Dock
Weedd 2. Rosebay willow herb

You large standard looks to me like another oak but difficult to see from photos.

I am not great on if they are poisonous to equines or not.
Click to expand...
You've just been stripped of your title! Second flower is NOT Rosebay willowherb but is Himalayan Balsam!

Rosebay Willowherb

Himalayan Balsam
 
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TJ&Ozzie said:
Ok I have a 1st class honours degree in conservation so if I don't know these I should be srtipped of my title!!

1. Hazel
2. Oak
3. Fox glove

Weed 1. Dock
Weedd 2. Rosebay willow herb

You large standard looks to me like another oak but difficult to see from photos.

I am not great on if they are poisonous to equines or not.
Click to expand...

Duly stripped, last weed is definitely himalayan/Indian balsam lol

From me it's hazel, oak, Oak, foxglove, hazel, large tree looks like oak (could be alder), dock, balsam. Only one you need worry about is the oak really, foxgloves are poisonous but horses I've will not touch them, unlike oak which they can get a taste for. Obviously still remove foxglove though. Balsam and docks are nuisances that take up grass space, but are not harmful. We fence off our oak tree when the acorns drop as our horses love these :mad:
 
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I'd have said 1. was beech, but that's because I don't come across hazel very often for comparison... my test would be if the horses eat it. Ours love beech leaves (especially in the spring) and strip all the leaves they can reach.

Oak is not so good for them to be eating, I think it's tannic acid in the leaves twigs and acorns, and in largeish quantities is it quite poisonous.

Foxgloves - pull 'em up for safety, but I've never seen a horse touch one. i have seen hungry horses nibble docks, and they are slightly poisonous (contain alkaloids) so get rid of them of you can, but most horses avoid them.

The himalayan balsam (last pic with the pnk/purple flowers) you will know because it has a strong peculiar smell - not unpleasant, but odd. The stems are sort of segmented, almost like asparagus, and apparently young stems can be eaten, like asparagus :D. My friend's horse eats it, mine doesn't and did spend two years in a pasture with it. If you let it go to seed, the seed heads pop explosively and send the seeds a long way, so it can quickly take hold and start to take over your paddock! Get rid of it on this basis alone ;)
 
Heh you have your work cut out making that horse safe :) oak and foxglove (we have some too but not where the horses graze)

Agree with SF on the names and the last one is indeed Himalayan Balsam, we suffer here it's gross.
 
Hazel, my kids love nicking the nuts off these :)
Oak,
Foxglove,
Dock
& Himalayan Balsam....dig the stuff & get rid of it, its terrible for spreading & you wont have any field left at all if you leave it.

Have to say im quite shocked that someone didnt know any of these plants (apart from the last one)? They are all so common & every day, though i guess it helps when your Nan is a keen gardener lol.
 
At the moment my horse is trying to drag me towards the Oak and take great mouthfuls of it - obviously I don't let him. I always thought that horses tend not to go for things that are bad for them unless there is nothing else or by accident but he's definitely in an Oak phase at the moment.
Earlier in the year it was beech and hawthorn.
 
Agree with others on id's
The one I would worry about is Himalayan Balsam. It is extrememly invasive, we have a vast amount which we strim and pull out. We dont use chemicals as it grows along the stream and we dont want to contaminate the water supply. Its not toxic, but a real nuisance, with each plant producing hundreds of seeds.
The Royal Horticultural Society has more information on it. We call it Pink Peril.

http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/profile.aspx?pid=480
 
Traveller59 you can use roundup on the balsam, or any glyphosate based weed killer as these are safe to use near water due to their short lived time, they break down easily once sprayed.

We have balsam and I know it's bad, but popping the seed pods is addictive :o
 
Thanks SF... I will look into it. I feel bad resorting to chemicals as we have so many pretty orchids and natural pasture. Its one of the few pockets of natural pasture in the area.
 
Traveller59 said:
Thanks SF... I will look into it. I feel bad resorting to chemicals as we have so many pretty orchids and natural pasture. Its one of the few pockets of natural pasture in the area.
Click to expand...

Oh no, I do too, rarely use any, but if you use a weed wiper just on the leaves you can reduce spillage into other areas quite easily. Our ragwort may well can weed killed next year, I am fed up of pulling it!
 
One big bonus is that it keeps me pretty fit!! I'd probably be as big as a house if it wasnt for pulling balsam, poo picking, hauling water etc etc..... Oh and riding now and then!.... :)
 
Maybe the OP could be persuaded to post pictures of the branches/trunks of some of the bushes/trees together with leaves of course? It is not always possible to identify species from the leaves alone, especially from a photograph.
 
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