The list below ranks in order the top 75 favorite wildlife preferred greens, including leaves and needles, stems and non-woody, above ground parts.
The ranking is determined using two criteria to describe the role of the plant food in animals’ diets:
1) the number of species that utilizes the food,
2) how significant the food is within an individual species overall diet
So while a food may not be popular across a large number of species, it still could be strongly preferred by a few species. By coordinating with a rehabber’s specific needs, a forager can decide which plants to best target for collection.
Be sure to check any item listed below in the database to see if there are any toxicological warnings associated with that plant or part of the plant.
| Ranking | Common Name | Botanical Name |
| 1 | spikerush | Eleocharis spp. |
| 2 | algae | Algae spp. |
| 3 | chickweed, common | Stellaria media |
| 4 | clover | Trifolium spp. |
| 5 | pine | Pinus spp. |
| 6 | bluegrass | Poa spp. |
| 7 | poison ivy, eastern | Toxicodendron radicans |
| 8 | rose, multiflora | Rosa multiflora |
| 9 | wheat | Triticum spp. |
| 10 | panicgrass | Panicum spp. |
| 11 | dandelion, common | Taraxacum officinale |
| 12 | arrowhead | Sagittaria spp. |
| 13 | dock | Rumex spp. |
| 14 | corn | Zea mays |
| 15 | strawberry | Fragaria spp. |
| 16 | bulrush | Scirpus spp. |
| 17 | spruce | Picea spp. |
| 18 | sedge | Carex spp. |
| 19 | aspen (poplar) | Populus spp. |
| 20 | goldenrod | Solidago spp. |
| 21 | cattail | Tyhpa spp. |
| 22 | laurel, great | Rhododendron maximum |
| 23 | vetch | Vicia spp. |
| 24 | buttercup | Ranunculus spp. |
| 25 | horsetail | Equistem spp. |
| 26 | crowngrass | Paspalum spp. |
| 27 | pigweed (amaranth) | Amaranthus spp. |
| 28 | aster | Aster spp. |
| 29 | orchardgrass | Dactylis glomerata |
| 30 | cottongrass, generally | Eriophorum spp. |
| 31 | cottongrass, Tussock | Eriophorum vaginatum |
| 32 | fescue | Festuca spp. |
| 33 | lupine | Lupinus spp. |
| 34 | cattail, broadleaf | Typha latifolia |
| 35 | lespedeza, sericea | Lespedeza cuneata |
| 36 | hemlock, eastern | Tsuga canadensis |
| 37 | woodfern | Dryopteris spp. |
| 38 | blackberry | Rubus spp. |
| 39 | brome | Bromus spp. |
| 40 | hemlock | Tsuga spp. |
| 41 | alfalfa (medick)(burclover) | Medicago sativa |
| 42 | waterhemp | Amaranthus tuberculatus |
| 43 | wheatgrass | Elymus spp. |
| 44 | maple, sugar | Acer saccharum |
| 45 | fescue, red | Festuca rubra |
| 46 | cowparsnip, common | Heracleum maximum |
| 47 | lespedeza, shrub | Lespedeza bicolor |
| 48 | lupine, sundial | Lupinus perennis |
| 49 | hawkweed | Hieracium spp. |
| 50 | pond lily | Nuphar spp. |
| 51 | pussytoes | Antennaria spp. |
| 52 | yarrow, common | Achillea millefolium |
| 53 | wood sorrel | Oxalis spp. |
| 54 | glasswort | Salicornia spp. |
| 55 | timothy | Phleum pratense |
| 56 | wintergreen | Pyrola spp. |
| 57 | watermilfoil | Myriophyllum spp. |
| 58 | maple | Acer spp. |
| 59 | brome, smooth | Bromus inermis |
| 60 | hawkweed, orange | Hieracium aurantiacum |
| 61 | bluegrass, Kentucky | Poa pratensis |
| 62 | cottonwood, eastern | Populus deltoides |
| 63 | raspberry, red | Rubus idaeus |
| 64 | blackberry, evergreen | Rubus laciniatus |
| 65 | clover, white | Trifolium repens |
| 66 | plantain | Plantago spp. |
| 67 | waterweed | Elodea spp. |
| 68 | spikerush, squarestem | Eleocharis quadrangulata |
| 69 | pond lily, yellow (cow-lily) | Nuphar lutea |
| 70 | greenbrier | Smilax spp. |
| 71 | bluestem | Andropogon spp. |
| 72 | hogpeanut, American | Amphicarpaea bracteata |
| 73 | fern, rattlesnake | Botrypus virginianus |
| 74 | Virginia creeper | Parthenocissus spp. |
| 75 | cinquefoil | Potentilla spp. |
What Criteria is Used for the Ranking the Lists?
The main resources used to build this website usually rated foods in three levels of preference: high, middle and low. But, a plant may be high preference in Michigan but lower preference in Virginia. So the preference factor has some built in limitations. Still, it is factor #1 in the algorithm.
The second factor considered was how many species of animals ate the part of the plant in consideration. A seed that 29 species of animals eats would outrank a seed that only 5 species eats.
From a foragers perspective, it would be ideal to collect the most highly preferable foods that feed the widest range of rehabilitation animals, right? Well maybe not.
Consider if a rehabilitator only works with foxes. To research which foods would be most beneficial in the “fox only” scenario, the only consideration that she would care about is the most preferred food for foxes, not how many other species ate it.
So the ranking lists are the most general broad interpretation of the data. You will want to generate your own lists from the search feature to find out just what you want to target for collection.
References Used with Permission:
The Fire Effects Information System, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer).
Fire Effects Information System (2017) Plant species ecology literature reviews. Retrieved various dates from https://www.feis-crs.org/feis/
Martin, A.C., Zim, H.S., Nelson, A.L. (1951). American Wildlife and Plants: A Guide to Wildlife Food Habits. New York: Dover Publications.
Scott, M. (2013). Songbird Diet Index. National Wildlife Rehabilitators Association, St. Cloud, MN.