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I have a whatizit that I hope someone can identify it. It's been in my flower beds for months and hasn't bloomed or anything.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Barb in Mississippi,

here's a pic of the stem. Not a very good pic, but the best I can do.

No idea, sorry.

wild parsnip?

Reminds me of my Spirea leaves but have no idea what goes down south.

Uh oh - Mary Jane???

ve

It's not Mary Jane! DH said the same thing. I have no idea what it is, but I'm going to start pulling it out of my beds. That stuff is everywhere!!!

To me it looks like a random weed. I don't know what kind. Any time I see something growing really nice without any help from me in my yard, it's usually a weed.....
If there aren't flowers, it's prolly a weed, pull it out if you can!

quote:

Originally posted by vera ellen:
Uh oh - Mary Jane???

ve

I was going to say the same thing, but I knew it wasn't that. LOL

I was waiting for someone to ask me how I knew it wasn't Mary Jane!
I tried pulling this thing up and it has the tightest hold on everything. I know it's a weed and I agree with Wavy, anything that grows really nice with no help from me, it has to be a weed.
The only reason I was wondering was because, I really did think it was a flower. One year I had spider flowers coming up and I had no idea how they got in my flower beds. I was hoping that this was one of those.

I thought the leaves looked like nettle but I don't know if it branches like that.

Barb, is your extension service close? If so, the next time you head that direction take one to them to see if they can ID it.

that is a good idea, karen. I have to go to Stawberry Plains for the hummingbird migration the early part of September and there are tons of horticulture people there. I'll take it to one of them. Thanks for the idea!

Barb, does this plant have a woody stem? I was looking at my False Aralia this morning and noticed that the leaves looked similar to your plant. Since you are so much farther south, I wondered if maybe FA's grew wild down there. Here they are obviously a house plant. Just a thought.

ve

vera ellen, it doesn't have a woody stem, but it's only 2 months old. I don't know what one looks like full grown. I'm going to do a google search on the False Aralia. I'll be back!
I've seen that house plant and it is a house plant down here in the south[i'm not that much farther south] It's a pretty plant and there are so many of them down here, I wish that was it.
Thanks vera!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Barb in Mississippi,

quote:

Originally posted by vera ellen:
Uh oh - Mary Jane??? ve

LOL..that's what I was going to say, except it doesn't have 5 leaves only 3. hehe it's been 35 years since I saw one.

VE, Barb's location...she is to Memphis, Tn. what you are to Huntsville, Al....or close anyway!
I'm way further south...closer to Tallahassee, Fl.

I know! Geez I should have recognized it since I have a gazillion of them growing all over the property.
The leaves vary a bit from plant to plant but the stalk looks the same.
It's Spanish Needle or Bidens pilosa
http://www.ourlocallife.com/wh.../spanish-needle.html

Mine are so large that the leaves are wider but the young sprouts look the same as yours. The flower looks like a small daisy and the seeds are needlelike with two tiny barbs at one end and will stick to anything....hence the name.

Good thing you pulled it up, once they flower and the seeds appear there's no getting rid of them.

Another photo

BTW...mine haven't started blooming yet, and they get 8 feet tall down here.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: zone9alady,

oh gheese Louise.......glad you could ID it for Barb. Pretty picture of the skipper on the bloom too.

Thanks for the geographic location Karen. Puts things a bit more in perspective.


ve

If there is a lot of it and it's difficult to pull out, there's a *very* good chance it's a noxious weed! What I've sometimes done with unidentified plants is to leave just one until I'm sure it's really a weed.