Edible Flordia Leaves

Question
QUESTION: Dear Dr. Kremples,
I have a couple of bunnies that I let loose in a fenced area in my yard to run and get exercise. After they have exhausted themselves from running and jumping around enjoying the great outdoors, they like to spread out lazily under my avocado or mango tree. While they are lounging out they occasionally like to eat the the low hanging leaves off the avocado tree as well as some dead leaves on the ground. Should I be concerned about that, is it ok for them to eat avocado or mango leaves? They also eat fresh rosemary that I have planted under the avocado tree which is where they mostly hide and nibble on. I also planted some papaya trees and and banana trees and occasionally feed them some pieces of the banana leaves and some small papaya leaves too. They love to eat both of them and I heard that the papaya contains papain which I believe is an enzyme that can help with their digestion and avoiding hair balls or at least passing them easier. I would appreciate any feedback on these food items that I'm feeding them as well as pellets and timothy hay, although they seem to be ignoring the hay unless they get really hungry and have eaten all their pellets. The buns are only about 3 months old now and very playful. I want to grow some plants like basil, the rosemary and any others so I can feed it to them. I do have a lot of mangos and avocados, but I'm not sure if they can eat the fruits or the leaves. Anyway, just looking for info on any leaves that are ok for them to eat and not get sick from especially mangos and avocados. Thank you for all the information you respond to.

ANSWER: Dear Joe,

I'm also in southern Florida, and while I don't have avocado trees (I can't get one to survive to save my life!), we have lots of mangos.  I've never seen our bunnies nibbling those, so I doubt they would:  they are members of the poison ivy family (Anacardiaceae), and so should not be fed to the bunnies.  I'm not sure whether they are still toxic when dry, but since my bunnies have never gotten sick despite the plentiful dried mango leaves.  Avocado trees are members of the laurel family (Lauraceae), which can have some potentially toxic compounds.  The best information I could find on this was here:

http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/Articles/Exotic-Herbs-Spices-and-Salts-639/avocado-

Since Haas avocados won't grow here, I am not sure about the toxicity of the ones we have.  It might depend on the variety.  Avocado vegetative parts contain a fatty acid, persin, which has been linked to colic in horses.  Since horses and rabbits share a lot of physiological similarities (though they are not particularly closely related, phylogenetically), I would be cautious about the avocado leaves.

Things that grow well in my southern Florida yard and are either tasty or harmless for the bunnies are:  any type of herb you might get at Home Depot except Pennyroyal (and its mint derivatives), though some of the highly aromatic ones (e.g., rosemary, lemon grass) should be limited.  (Still, a bunny would have to eat a LOT to get sick.)

Pentas are good, as are the leaves of our native Strangler Fig (Ficus aureus), blue plumbago, St. Augistine grass (or any lawn grass that's clean, not sprayed with pesticide or fertilizer, and has not had wild animals defecating on it).  

Hope that helps for starts!

Dana

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for the response Dana, I'll keep an eye on them if they go for the mango leaves, I've got one bunny that will eat just about anything, I've seen her eating the avocado leaves and think she nibbled on some mango leaves too but it's not like she goes crazy and eats the leaves non-stop. I have not seen any problem with the Banana leaves or the Papaya leaves, are those ok every once in a while? I'm not just feeding them leaves, they get timothy or coastal hay and pellets too but these other items are what I consider their treats so its not just the hay and pellets being fed. They do like to eat the St Augustine grass as you mentioned. I did not know about the ficus trees being edible, that's good since I have a hedge in my front yard that I trim down and can give them some of those too. They love to eat my basil but that one if very limited and they better be on their best behavior to earn that. Thanks for the info, I will be picking up some more herbs for the garden from Home Depot to keep them happy. Sorry to hear about the avocados, I'm hooked on those things and have different varieties. If you get the urge to try again, I've gotten my trees from a place in Homestead called Pine Island Nursery. http://www.tropicalfruitnursery.com/avocado-viewer/index.htm
Two of my favorite varieties are the Simmonds and Monroe which produce fruit at different times of the year. I hope you have better luck if you try again and the mangos are always a winner. Thanks, Joe

Answer
Hi, Joe

I LOVE Pine Island Nursery.  I've gotten several nice fruit trees there.  But if you want really fantastic mangos that will be robust and full-bearing, head out to Grapeyard Nursery, also in Homestead.  It's run by Hungarians, and they KNOW their mangos!  :)

Bananas and papayas are safe for nibbling, and very tasty.  Our bunnies love them.  Especially the bananas.

Take care,

Dana