Zingiber zerumbet, Ornamental Ginger, Pinecone Ginger

Uses: Xeriscaping, Edible, Forage, Medicinal. Native to : India, naturalized throughout the tropics.
     This plant is very striking even in a landscape filled with striking plants. It's no wonder the plant has traveled from India to now exist worldwide in tropical areas. The leaves grow several feet tall even in my shady, rainfall-irrigated  front yard. It does seem to prefer dampish, shady places, and would be a good choice for understory use.
     The leaves die back in the fall, but the plant returns from the rhizomes underneath the soil surface. The rhizome itself is a ginger and can be used in any way the ginger root is used. The leaves can be used as an herbal flavoring for cooked food. The red flower, not shown here, can be squeezed and the juices used as a natural shampoo, as it is high in saponins and smells wonderful.
     Medicinally the rhizome is used worldwide to treat inflammation and indigestion disorders. A good deal of research has been conducted, and the folk uses for soap ginger do hold up to science. Additionally, it has beneficial properties to maintain health, such as tumor and microbial suppression.
     I was unable to locate any research on whether soap ginger greens are safe to feed livestock, but since they are safe for humans, they are a good bet. I have given small quantities, about one leaflet a day, to my rabbits with no ill effects, in fact, even dried they are relished as a tasty treat. One can only assume that the leaves are completely safe since they are eaten by humans. (They ate one of the flowers too, with no problems!)

Common Orange Honeysuckle, Tecoma capensis

Uses : Xeriscaping, Wildlife.  Native to: Africa.
     This is a very easy to grow and maintain shrub which sends up canes. In the winter and early spring orange flowers dominate the scape, as it tends to be one of the few plants that bloom at that time of year. Bees and hummingbirds are attracted to the large, drooping, trumpet-shaped flowers.
     It needs no care once established, other than to yearly trim the canes that appear in unwanted areas. Orange honeysuckle thrives in full sun. It can be seen hanging on fences right next to busy roadways, and is an ideal plant for that situation. It normally will grow about 4 feet tall unless a fence or other structure is provided. It can grow a single can about 12-15 feet with support.
     Because it grows so easily along a fence, it makes an ideal barrier for privacy. It is much much less invasive than bamboo, and has the orange flowers which attract wildlife. The leaves will remain thick and green all year, but the plant may die down during a year of several bad frosts. Doubtless it would grow even better in South Florida.
     Flowers can also be yellow or pinkish-orange, depending on the variety.
     Orange honeysuckle is known to be somewhat salt-tolerant.
     There is very little information on whether orange honeysuckle can be used a forage source, but it is known that wild rabbits do not prefer the other members of the honeysuckle family.

Guide to Breeding Rabbits

American Poultry Advocate, Jan 1918.

   It's almost a sad shame that our government and non-governmental organizations are not publishing literature like this, but that all the really good stuff about small livestock comes from the "third-world". This brochure was written in 1992, but the information is just as accurate now as ever.

Guide to Breeding Rabbits

Pictures and techniques for sexing the rabbits. More information about breeding, with pictures.

Antique Research on Floridian Rabbit Forages

    A biology research paper, written in 1934, and published in the Journal of Mammalogy in 1936, discusses the diets and habitats of the Florida Marsh Rabbit. Unfortunately the paper is not available for public viewing, but I would like to share with you the information gleaned from the rabbits.
     About 9 rabbits were captured from Newnan's Lake area, east of Gainesville, Florida, and fed plants found in the surrounding habitat. Sixty-four different species of plants were offered. Some were eaten right away, others eaten only when hungry, and others were not even on pain of starvation (yes, bunnies died during this experiment).

Trees and Vines Eaten Readily

French Mulberry (Callicarpa americana)

Dwarf thorn (Craiaegus uniflora)

Blackberry (Rubus betulifolius)

Dewberry (Rubus continentalis)

Sweet gum (Liquidambar styraciflua)

Common elder (Sambucus canadensis)

Red bud (Cercis canadensis)

Ward's willow (Salix longipes)

Yellow jessamine (Gelsemium sempivirens)

Water oak (Quercus nigra)

Groundsel tree (Baccharis halimifolia)

Saw brier, Green brier, wild bamboo, jackson brier, sarsparilla (Smilax spp.)

 

Herbs and Small Plants Eaten Readily

 

Centella (Centella repanda)

Marsh pennywort (Hydrocotyle spp.)

Cattail (Typha latifolia)

Rush (Juncus effusus)

Arrowhead (Sagittaria lancifolia)

Smartweed (Persicaria hirsula)

Ground cherry (Physalis floridana)

Nightshade (Solanum sisymbriifolium)

Water hyacinth (Piaropus crassipes)

Ruellia (Ruellia parviflora)

Golden club (Orontium aquaticus)

Violet (Viola esculenta)

Yellow woodsorrel (Xanthoxalis langloisii)

Sow thistle (Sonchus oleraceus)

Golden fumeroot (Capnoides aereum)

Cinnamon fern (Osmunda cinnamomea)

Bracken (Pteridium aquilinum)

Chain fern (Woodwardia arealata)

 

Eaten when no other food was available : Saw palmetto, Lizard's tail, Hackberry, Cabbage palm, Water starwort, mushroom

Absolutely refused : Papaw, Wild plum, Poison ivy, Persimmon, Magnolia (grandiflora), Holly, Muscadine grape, Red mulberry, Wax myrtle, Gallberry, Deer tongue, Spanish Moss, Bonnets, Pokeweed