# Small Edible plants for the viv?



## Dendro Dave (Aug 2, 2005)

Ya just wondering if there are any small edible plants we can grow in our vivs? Like berries, citrus fruits, other fruit, even vegetables. 

Any ideas? Excluding mushrooms...I've already researched those. (And they aren't plants)

I had Anthurium scandens, but was never sure the berries were edible. In fact I've seen several small plants that produce berries, but I always have a tough time finding out whether or not they are edible ;(


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## james67 (Jun 28, 2008)

there are some epiphytic blueberries (Sphyrospermum cordifolium) i dont know if theyre edible, but i believe they are.

james


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## Jadenkisses (Jun 9, 2010)

Just curious, but what kind of animal's vivarium are you looking to put edible plants in? I'm assuming they would be intended for cosumption bybthe inhabitant , right?

Anyway, I was just wondering ...


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## driftfc (May 2, 2006)

thats not a bad idea, it would serve as a breeding ground for left over flies and a feeding site when the berries fell. only thing i can think of is if it would be poisionous to the frogs once the fly ingested the berries?


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## ashb (Dec 9, 2009)

I think he wants to know if there are any plants that bear fruit that is edible to us! So we can grow our own produce inside our vivariums. Cool concept!


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## Dendro Dave (Aug 2, 2005)

Yes mostly food for me...but if some berries or whatever fall and feed insects then good. I just thought it would be cool. Eventually I plan on trying some mushrooms that are also edible, like pink oysters.


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## Dane (Aug 19, 2004)

I would really think twice about eating something grown inside a viv, especially one containing herps, unless it was thoroughly cooked. Even then...


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## Dendro Dave (Aug 2, 2005)

I would of course wash anything throughly at the least...maybe even in a mild bleach solution.


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## frogparty (Dec 27, 2007)

I would hope so......frog "spices" don't make me hungry


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## Jadenkisses (Jun 9, 2010)

Yes- my frogs' favorite place to poop is on the leaves and vegetation, and also, the fruit flies may decide that's a good place to lay eggs in ...
Wouldn't want to bite into a blueberry filled with fruit fly maggots! Ewwww....

Edible plants for human consumption in a viv is a really neat idea, but you would just have to watch out for the feeder insects that will lay their eggs in the berries. 

But it would be a good way to have your fruit fly culture be able to sustain itself inside the dart frogs vivarium. But then again, it may get nasty and stinky.

I don't know really, just my thoughts on it


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## Dendro Dave (Aug 2, 2005)

Ok I've been taking notes in "notepad"...I'll just copy what I've got so far for other people who may be interested in trying this...or wanna do further research. Frankly I could use some help here...I've found a few resources, but there is a ton of material to go through just to find a few things that may be suitable. 

Here are my notes...so far.

edible viv plants...

Rescources...
Huge list of edible plants (search it for viv suitable ones)
http://www.floridata.com/lists/vegetables_n_edible_plants.cfm

Large supplier of hard to find plant seeds...fruits, tropicals, veggies, ect...etc..etc...
http://www.tradewindsfruitstore.com/servlet/StoreFront

Supplier with very helpful plant lists, by color, use, etc.. including edible/useful plant list (often doesn't have a listed plant in stock, but can do a search to find it elsewhere)
http://www.anniesannuals.com/

Garden web search. Can search for suppliers of many different plant types. Will take you to an info page for the supplier you clicked on where you will often find direct link to website.
http://bazaar.gardenweb.com/directory/


specific plants... (not sure any of these are perfect, to tall, to wide, to dry?)
Etlingera megalocheilos (possibly other small gingers?)

Cotztomatl-Physalis costomatl

Sunberry -Physalis minima a.k.a. Wild Cape Gooseberry

Cape Gooseberry	-Physalis peruviana	a.k.a. Ground Cherry, Golden Berry 

Wonderberry-Solanum burbankii (unripe berry toxic)

Stevia-Stevia rebaudiana

Pisum sativum -short vined pea species (perhaps others are suitable...if annual could let seeds drop and regrow? Possible option for other plants)

Some grape varieties grow to s. Florida

Vaccinium 'Top Hat' (dwarf blueberry bush)

Some ever bearing strawberry cultivars?
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I've come across a few possibilities I didn't list in the resources above as they weren't something I'd be interested in, but others may be...plus I got bored. 

Annuals, and trees/shrubs treated as bonsai are options for those willing to do the work.

Where's Antone when I need him? I heard he is into things with berries....Don't make me PM you!!!  You'll never get rid of me...ask Harry!


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## Dendro Dave (Aug 2, 2005)

Adding to list...

Vaccinium 'Ben Lear' (cranberries)

Vitis vinifera 'Red Catawba' (grape variety that spreads wide, but stays low) (Grapes in Florida write up: http://www.quisqualis.com/tv05grapelon04.html

Arachis hypogaea (peanuts!...annual, and possible contamination hazard though)


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## Dendro Dave (Aug 2, 2005)

More resources I haven't gone through yet...

Tropical Fruit Seed List A-Ch

http://www.floraexotica.ca/Vegie.htm

http://www.directgardening.com/

Wiki list of edible fruits...(big list)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_culinary_fruits


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

When looking at some of those types of plants, you need to check the chill requirements to set fruit (and to grow well). For example Vaccinium 'Top Hat' has a low chill requirement (which I think is about 150 hours at 32-45 F... 

Vaccinium 'Ben Lear' has a high chill requirement. 

The grape Vitis vinifera 'Red Catawba' may have a low chill requirment. 

Ed


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## Dendro Dave (Aug 2, 2005)

Does not chilling, rule out fruiting? 

I found one reference to blueberries and chilling that said not meeting chill requirements could lower yield and make fruiting sporadic...but it sounded like it would still fruit...eventually, but maybe not often/well....though it probably assumed some chilling even if not the required amount.

I don't mind sporadic....not fruiting at all though, kinda defeats the purpose


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## frogparty (Dec 27, 2007)

Stevia gets huge, and is actually a pain in the ass to grow. I would give it about a week till it was just one huge mass of botrytis.

All the everbearing strawberries Ive ever grown got pretty large pretty quickly. Maybe not too large for a big viv,but too large for mostI'd say. And the berries are bug magnets

cotztomatl will get far too large for a viv


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

Dendro Dave said:


> Does not chilling, rule out fruiting?
> 
> I found one reference to blueberries and chilling that said not meeting chill requirements could lower yield and make fruiting sporadic...but it sounded like it would still fruit...eventually, but maybe not often/well....though it probably assumed some chilling even if not the required amount.
> 
> I don't mind sporadic....not fruiting at all though, kinda defeats the purpose


The reference means that the plant is getting some chilling but isn't reaching the minimal levels required for fruiting. This is very different than not chilling the plant at all. 

Ed


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## Yobosayo (Sep 27, 2009)

I have strawberries seeding all over the place. Doubtful that I will ever see fruit but the greenery is nice.

I regularly chop up a few strawberries and toss them in the viv. They make great feeding stations and on occassion will yield some FF maggots. The springtails also seem to love them - every chunk is usually crawling w/springs once the lights go out.


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## RMB (Nov 26, 2009)

Have you considered herbs like basil or mint? I think they would thrive in viv conditions, as long as pests where excluded. Not very exotic, but it'd be useful.


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## Dendro Dave (Aug 2, 2005)

I have, but I'm not really big on that stuff....Looking for something sweeter tasting preferably. I did run across a few herb possibilities on some of the resources I've listed if anyone else is interested though. I think one was a type of oxalis

glasshouse has a list of tropical herbs...
Tropical Herbs from Glasshouse Works


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## james67 (Jun 28, 2008)

some of those arent really food, but medicine.

very nice selection though.
james


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## Frogtofall (Feb 16, 2006)

james67 said:


> there are some epiphytic blueberries (Sphyrospermum cordifolium) i dont know if theyre edible, but i believe they are.
> 
> james


Please be careful. According to Harry Luther per verbal, some plants from the blueberry (Ericaceae) family are quite toxic.


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## Dendro Dave (Aug 2, 2005)

Frogtofall said:


> Please be careful. According to Harry Luther per verbal, some plants from the blueberry (Ericaceae) family are quite toxic.


Yes please if anyone else decides to try something like this do your research and make sure the plant is safe. As one example I found, the ripe berries are edible...the unripe ones are toxic.

Some parts of a plant can be edible while others are not, they can also cause skin irritations and what not when certain parts are handled...plants like that probably aren't good to have your frogs climbing over.

Simply put...exercise caution...and common sense


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## Frogtofall (Feb 16, 2006)

I don't recommend trying any of these without consulting a toxicologist but many Columnea fruit very easily. I've personally tried C. orientadina berries. They are bland but not bad. Again, please be careful.


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## Dendro Dave (Aug 2, 2005)

Rad, thx for the info. I'll look into them...and will do 

Can anyone comment on the growth rate for Sphyrospermum cordifolium? I'd like to avoid much pruning but if its something with a fairly slow growth rate I might be willing to work with it.


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## Frogtofall (Feb 16, 2006)

It's not weedy. Go for it.


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## Dendro Dave (Aug 2, 2005)

Few more possibilities to add... (ignore the * just used it to seperate these from ones I already had listed so I'd know which to post)



Costus productus (a ginger) * (sweet edible flower)

Musa 'Truly Tiny' (Truly Tiny Banana) up to 2feet tall *

Oxalis triangularis * (edible foilage and flower, good for salads...purple/black leaves pale purple flowers)*

Solanum quitoense AND Solanum angulatum (Many thorns, not suitable for frogs/animals probably)*

Tropaeolum majus and Tropaeolum nanum * (peppery tasting leaves and flowers very pretty)
Family: Tropaeolaceae

Vaccinium corymbosum, Tropical Blueberry, Lowbush Blueberry - TopTropicals.com, rare plants for home and garden (tropical blueberry cultivars...may get a little big/need pruning)*

Vaccinium myrtillus (subtropical, might work?)
Family: Ericaceae
Bilberry *

Pernettya mucronata "Gush" & counted on the berries as a major food resource in summer & winter. Many other tribal peoples of Central & South America were as reliant on Pernettya. prostrata.
(Many varieties toxic, some debate on the 2 mentioned, atleast read this(before attempting) -> Paghat's Garden: Pernettya mucronata

Epiphyllum guatemalensis 'Monstrose' (some people report fruit is edible, grows in florida(may survive in a viv?)...more research for safety but most cactus fruits are edible...some discussion here- Is the fruit of this Epiphyllum cactus edible? - Cacti in Oz Forum - GardenWeb

As already stated, please do as much research as possible to establish safety before trying any of these.


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## Groundhog (Dec 17, 2006)

As a gardener, I shall speak to this:

Herbs: Basil and other Lamiaceae require full sun. Mint is obnoxiously aggressive.

Solanaceae: You could try small ornamental peppers, but I do not know that they will set fruit in a tank. Also, while they are true tropicals, they are not really rainforest plants. 

Most_ Physalis_ sp. grow rampant, and need two plants to set fruit.

Coffea: Maybe in a huge tank.

Rau ram (Vietnamese cilantro) may actually be invasive.

Ficus sp: The tank would have to the size of your home.

Pineapple: Needs very bright light, gets big.

How about Partridgeberry (_Mitchella repens_)? Needs bright to flower, though.

Or maybe a dwarf Guava? Or _Musa_ 'Truly Tiny?' Or a Barbados Cherry?

Or Watercress? Or a Nasturtium?

There is always Vanilla--maybe in a big tank with HO lighting?


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## Dendro Dave (Aug 2, 2005)

Groundhog said:


> As a gardener, I shall speak to this:
> 
> Herbs: Basil and other Lamiaceae require full sun. Mint is obnoxiously aggressive.
> 
> ...


thx for the suggestions and info...I'm liking the partridge berry...that might work. musa tt is on the list, the cherry gets 20feet so probably not unless someone wants to prune. Nastrurtium looks to be the same as "Tropaeolum majus and Tropaeolum nanum * (peppery tasting leaves and flowers very pretty)Family: Tropaeolaceae". Watercress might be nice for some...I'll pass on that one though 

Keep em coming people!


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## james67 (Jun 28, 2008)

there are some south american ethnobotanicals that might work (most get pretty big, but possibly with some pruning) they would be nice for a large biotype tank IMO. i am NOT suggesting anyone eat or prepare these plants as that could be a violation of federal law.

banisteriopsis caapi
Banisteriopsis rusbyana
Psychotria viridis 
Psychotria carthagenensis
Passiflora alata
....


james


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## Dendro Dave (Aug 2, 2005)

Just a small update of some plants I found that I don't think have been posted yet and may work...


Mertensia maritima “Oysterleaf”

Fragaria vesca
‘Golden Alexandria’

Fragaria vesca 
‘Improved Rugen’
“Alpine Strawberry”

Perideridia bolanderi
“Yampa”

Actinidia arguta ‘Issai’
“Mini Kiwi” (can get 12 foot high, would need to be pruned but if it is a slow grower could be doable)

Garlic Chives
“Nira”

Eryngium foetidum (cilantro like flavor s. america)
“Culantro” 

Onion 
“Egyptian Walking Onion”
Allium cepa var. proliferum

Thymus praecox ‘Elfin’

Feel free to continue to add new suggestions...forever


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## vivbulider (Jan 23, 2010)

I'm going to try a passion fruit vine in my tank


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## Dendro Dave (Aug 2, 2005)

vivbulider said:


> I'm going to try a passion fruit vine in my tank


Ya I saw that. Your viv might just be big enough to pull it off. Good luck with it, let me know how it does for you.


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

Dendro Dave said:


> Just a small update of some plants I found that I don't think have been posted yet and may work...
> 
> Fragaria vesca
> ‘Golden Alexandria’
> ...


Hi Dave,

With the hardy kiwis you need two seperate plants to get them to fruit (male and female vines), and it also needs a certain period of chilling to fruit. They can also be very rapid aggressive growing vines. 

Ed


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## Dendro Dave (Aug 2, 2005)

Ed said:


> Hi Dave,
> 
> With the hardy kiwis you need two seperate plants to get them to fruit (male and female vines), and it also needs a certain period of chilling to fruit. They can also be very rapid aggressive growing vines.
> 
> Ed


Ok, I think I'm missing what you mean by separate, or at least I'm not understanding why...Don't most fruit bearing plants either self pollinate, or need a male/female combo to pollinate? Seems with the first separation would be unnecessary, and with the second it would be counterproductive...what am I missing?

Damn chilling periods...nature is starting to piss me off  In its damn near infinite diversity where are my freaking edible vivarium plants?

I was afraid of the rapid growing, I don't mind a little pruning but I don't wanna be in there every few days with a weed wacker.


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## Rain_Frog (Apr 27, 2004)

Brazilian Pennywort (hydrocotyle leucocephala) is said to be edible and customary to eat in the tropics. The plant grows like a weed in vivaria and aquaria, so you would always have a sustainable source of salad toppings.

However, like everyone else has said here, I would not feel comfortable eating things out of a vivarium since my frogs just love to sh*t on the leaves and I don't need to get salmonella poisoning.

I once had a tomato plant sprout in my Firebellied toad tank that grew quite large, but I eventually threw it away because it was taking over the whole tank. It would have been interesting to see what kind of fruit it would bear, but tomatoes need a lot of light and heat for good production. Which reminds me, I planted my heirloom varieties too late this year.


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

Dendro Dave said:


> Ok, I think I'm missing what you mean by separate, or at least I'm not understanding why...Don't most fruit bearing plants either self pollinate, or need a male/female combo to pollinate? Seems with the first separation would be unnecessary, and with the second it would be counterproductive...what am I missing?
> 
> Damn chilling periods...nature is starting to piss me off  In its damn near infinite diversity where are my freaking edible vivarium plants?
> 
> I was afraid of the rapid growing, I don't mind a little pruning but I don't wanna be in there every few days with a weed wacker.


A lot of higher plants have both male and female flower parts and many have different mechanisms to prevent self pollination which is why two plants are needed but kiwis are one of the plants where each plant only produces male or female flowers. So you not only need two plants to get fruit, but they have to be opposite sexes. 

Well we haven't discussed the requirments for pollinators yet.....in addition to chill hours etc... 

I've grown a variety of the exotic plants through seeds collected from fresh fruits in the stores. If you have the space and lighting, I strongly recommend loquats.. the leaves have a great looking furry texture and color (the fur looks silvery). Some of the other plants like cherimoyas grow very rapidly..


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## Dendro Dave (Aug 2, 2005)

Ed said:


> A lot of higher plants have both male and female flower parts and many have different mechanisms to prevent self pollination which is why two plants are needed but kiwis are one of the plants where each plant only produces male or female flowers. So you not only need two plants to get fruit, but they have to be opposite sexes.
> 
> Well we haven't discussed the requirments for pollinators yet.....in addition to chill hours etc...
> 
> I've grown a variety of the exotic plants through seeds collected from fresh fruits in the stores. If you have the space and lighting, I strongly recommend loquats.. the leaves have a great looking furry texture and color (the fur looks silvery). Some of the other plants like cherimoyas grow very rapidly..


Ok thanks for that, and I just realized I read your post wrong. I read it as you need to keep the plants away from each other not that you need 2 different plants together  

Oh god, pollinators...Ya not going there unless it is something that is so easily pollinated that fruit flies or basically anything moving to one plant and then the other would probably pull it off, or just setting the plants next to each other is enough.. I've mostly been looking for self pollinators if possible. I'll look up loquats


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## Dendro Dave (Aug 2, 2005)

Rain_Frog said:


> Brazilian Pennywort (hydrocotyle leucocephala) is said to be edible and customary to eat in the tropics. The plant grows like a weed in vivaria and aquaria, so you would always have a sustainable source of salad toppings.
> 
> However, like everyone else has said here, I would not feel comfortable eating things out of a vivarium since my frogs just love to sh*t on the leaves and I don't need to get salmonella poisoning.
> 
> I once had a tomato plant sprout in my Firebellied toad tank that grew quite large, but I eventually threw it away because it was taking over the whole tank. It would have been interesting to see what kind of fruit it would bear, but tomatoes need a lot of light and heat for good production. Which reminds me, I planted my heirloom varieties too late this year.


You can bet if I were to eat anything from a viv it will be washed in a bleach solution probably, then rinsed off well. That should take care of it right? If anyone can comment on all the precautions that would need to be taken to make sure a food was safe other then just making sure the food itself isn't poisonous that would be relevant to the conversation.

I suppose if anyone has resources that we could check a particular potential edible viv plant against to make sure it wasn't poisonous in some way would be good to post here also. Garden web and dave's garden are 2 I can think of...but neither should probably be accepted as the authority on their own, or even together.


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## james67 (Jun 28, 2008)

Ed said:


> A lot of higher plants have both male and female flower parts and many have different mechanisms to prevent self pollination which is why two plants are needed but kiwis are one of the plants where each plant only produces male or female flowers. So you not only need two plants to get fruit, but they have to be opposite sexes.
> 
> Well we haven't discussed the requirments for pollinators yet.....in addition to chill hours etc...
> 
> I've grown a variety of the exotic plants through seeds collected from fresh fruits in the stores. If you have the space and lighting, I strongly recommend loquats.. the leaves have a great looking furry texture and color (the fur looks silvery). Some of the other plants like cherimoyas grow very rapidly..


out of curiosity, is it possible to graft male and female plants together, or to use gibberellic acid on a female to induce the growth of male flowers and fruit, or does the anti-self pollinating ability block artificial attempts as well?

james


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

james67 said:


> out of curiosity, is it possible to graft male and female plants together, or to use gibberellic acid on a female to induce the growth of male flowers and fruit, or does the anti-self pollinating ability block artificial attempts as well?
> 
> james


Don't know never looked into it. 

Ed


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## Frogtofall (Feb 16, 2006)

Not sure if it was posted but certain species of Oxalis are edible in small quantities. Commonly known as 3 leaf clover.


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## Frogtofall (Feb 16, 2006)

Was just watching Bizarre Foods and they were eating Impatiens flowers. Not sure they are all edible but apparently some are.


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## Dendro Dave (Aug 2, 2005)

Stumbled across an interesting possibility today with edible berries... 

Fuchsia procumbens 
“Creeping Fuchsia”
PlantFiles: Detailed information on Creeping Fuchsia, Trailing Fuchsia Fuchsia procumbens

Annie's Annuals - Plant Lists

Spreads a little more then I'd like, but probably manageable especially in a 40-75gal+ viv.


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