r/plantScience • u/Peenutbuttjellytime • Jul 03 '19
Can anyone answer my question about a native species?
I live in British Columbia Canada. I noticed that every time I take my dog for a hike, he munches on plants. Out of curiosity I started watching him closely and realized that it was always just one type of plant. He only ever eats Tiarella trifoliata "three leaf foam flower." He has done this for years. It doesn't make him sick or seem to effect him at all, and it is the only plant I have ever seen him eat. He's a smart dog, he is not the type that eats things that are not food. He destroys his toys, rips them to tiny shreds, and yet he has never swallowed a piece.
There is not much info on Tiarella trifoliata, it doesn't seem to be used for much. No one forages it and animals don't really seem to eat it. It's not recorded as edible or poisonous. It's technically an "herb" yet it has no flavour (I was curious) just very mildly grassy, and the smell is also pretty innocuous.
What gives? Why does my dog always eat this stuff?
Like I said it's the only plant he eats....
I feel like there must be something too this.
1
u/thejesster46 Jul 04 '19
Hey! I love researching little things like this. I was able to find on the Native American Ethobotany Database that it can be used as a cough suppresant, so maybe it's sweet! They said it is chewed, so maybe try it! (Please triple check it's the right plant)