That's a good idea, but it can be hard to identify the plants correctly, which potentially limits our ability to make a truly comprehensive thread on the subject. Doesn't mean we can't try. It will still be useful to some.
But here's some issues I can think of when it comes to plant ID...
For example, there are numerous plants of different species known as 'milkweed' and some of them are toxic whereas others are beneficial for the wildlife, i.e. vital to the lifecycle of some butterflies, or for treating liver conditions in most animals and humans as well. We would need the scientific name as well as the common name, as many common names have multiple plants that are known by them.
Also, we've bred some harmful plants to be less harmful, and some harmless plants to be harmful. It gets ridiculously complicated i.e. in the case of comfrey and other plants intensively cultivated for culinary or commercial purposes. And all too often there is simply no way to tell them apart.
And as for GMO's... Where to start? I know many don't see any harm in them but I don't believe a plant that can grow a completely different species' fruit is going to act the same in the body. I'm referring to something that came home from the grocery shop there, not an anecdotal experience I heard from a friend of a friend or anything like that. I wouldn't allow my animals to graze fields that have grown Roundup-resistant/dependent plants either, for logical reasons. Unfortunately some of these genetically modified things look the same as their non-modified counterparts, i.e. the cabbage which when raw contains the modified venom of scorpions looks the same as normal cabbage. Supposedly the toxins are dealt with by cooking, but who cooks cabbage before feeding it to their animals? And you can't tell what cabbage is modified and what isn't. And there are similar examples of modified vegetables etc throughout the spectrum.
So much of the relevant knowledge is also very locally specific, and as an example Australia has many beneficial, harmless plants which have others which actually look identical in every respect but which are fatally toxic; even the experts aren't much help there. Countries of which the plant species have been documented for longer are easier to deal with.
Another concern is that the chemical makeup of plants change regularly, and often drastically, depending on weather events, the lifecycle of the plant, the soil, etc. For example red sorghum grass is toxic if grazed or cut in its second year. Some plants are only dangerous right after a thunderstorm. Many are dangerous when flowering only.
Not saying all this to try to discourage you, as I believe you've got a good idea; it's all necessary info, but takes a fair bit of study, but it's a field of study, not a short course. Still, everything one step at a time. If people can contribute to it, this thread would be worth its weight in the liveweight of livestock saved by the knowledge. (Potentially thousands of tons of livestock)...
Best wishes.
But here's some issues I can think of when it comes to plant ID...
For example, there are numerous plants of different species known as 'milkweed' and some of them are toxic whereas others are beneficial for the wildlife, i.e. vital to the lifecycle of some butterflies, or for treating liver conditions in most animals and humans as well. We would need the scientific name as well as the common name, as many common names have multiple plants that are known by them.
Also, we've bred some harmful plants to be less harmful, and some harmless plants to be harmful. It gets ridiculously complicated i.e. in the case of comfrey and other plants intensively cultivated for culinary or commercial purposes. And all too often there is simply no way to tell them apart.
And as for GMO's... Where to start? I know many don't see any harm in them but I don't believe a plant that can grow a completely different species' fruit is going to act the same in the body. I'm referring to something that came home from the grocery shop there, not an anecdotal experience I heard from a friend of a friend or anything like that. I wouldn't allow my animals to graze fields that have grown Roundup-resistant/dependent plants either, for logical reasons. Unfortunately some of these genetically modified things look the same as their non-modified counterparts, i.e. the cabbage which when raw contains the modified venom of scorpions looks the same as normal cabbage. Supposedly the toxins are dealt with by cooking, but who cooks cabbage before feeding it to their animals? And you can't tell what cabbage is modified and what isn't. And there are similar examples of modified vegetables etc throughout the spectrum.
So much of the relevant knowledge is also very locally specific, and as an example Australia has many beneficial, harmless plants which have others which actually look identical in every respect but which are fatally toxic; even the experts aren't much help there. Countries of which the plant species have been documented for longer are easier to deal with.
Another concern is that the chemical makeup of plants change regularly, and often drastically, depending on weather events, the lifecycle of the plant, the soil, etc. For example red sorghum grass is toxic if grazed or cut in its second year. Some plants are only dangerous right after a thunderstorm. Many are dangerous when flowering only.
Not saying all this to try to discourage you, as I believe you've got a good idea; it's all necessary info, but takes a fair bit of study, but it's a field of study, not a short course. Still, everything one step at a time. If people can contribute to it, this thread would be worth its weight in the liveweight of livestock saved by the knowledge. (Potentially thousands of tons of livestock)...
Best wishes.
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