Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

The difference between Scotch and French broom is Scotch broom has long, 
more or less straight spiky branches, French broom has less straight 
branches and softer leaves, fuzzy and silvery on the bottom. Around here, 
most of what people call Scotch broom is actually French broom.  Our book on 
Invasive Plants of California's Wildlands states, regarding Scotch broom, 
"Seeds are toxic to ungulates (hooved animals). Mature shoots are 
unpalatable and are not used for forage except by rabbits in the seedling 
stage (sic). Foliage causes digestive disorders in horses."
I didn't see anything about French broom, but I would assume the same 
precautions would apply.

Barbara


----- Original Message ----- 
From: <kazevedo@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, January 28, 2006 9:41 PM
Subject: [RC] Scotch Broom...poisonous?


> Hi everyone- hope you all are doing great!
>
> My horse likes to snag scotch broom branches from the side of the trail 
> when we're riding.  I have no idea if it is a poisonous plant for horses, 
> does anyone know?  It's a non-native, invasive species, so I just wanted 
> to be extra careful because it could be bad.
> (It could be french broom, but it has yellow flowers and I thought that 
> was a characteristic of scotch broom, either way... they are related to 
> eachother so if one is poisonous, the other probably is too)
>
> If nobody knows, it's okay.. I'm sure there are lists of poisonous plants 
> available on the internet... just thought I'd check here first.
>
> Thanks!
> Katie
>
>
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