# Know what this plant is?



## tree-farmer

Found it growing in my pasture where the animals lie down. They don't seem to graze it so I'm thinking about mowing it


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## Waiting Falcon

Water hemlock?


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## tree-farmer

Better pic


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## Cabin Fever

The photo below is common ragweed.


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## Allen W

Some variety of wild mustard would be my guess for this time of year.


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## Fennick

It looks to me like it may be pineapple weed that hasn't bloomed yet. _Matricaria matricarioides, _aka wild camomile. There is tons of pineapple weed growing all over BC. It is edible but cattle generally will only nibble on the flowers. When it blooms in late spring to early summer if the flowers look like this below then that is what it is. Otherwise if it doesn't get flowers like that on it then my vote is for ragweed.


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## tree-farmer

Here is a better pic. Looking at ragweed pics, it looks similar and so does the pineappleweed but I'm not quite convinced by either.

Thanks for the help


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## tree-farmer

And it has been browsed a bit, just doesn't appear to be anyone's favourite


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## Cabin Fever

If there are any flowers or flower buds on the plants, crush them between your fingers. If they kinda smell like pineapple, you'll know what you have.


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## ShannonR

I collect the buds off of those and make tea. Very,useful plant.


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## tree-farmer

Out of town for a couple weeks. It'll probably be easier to identify when I get back...


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## JJ Grandits

If you crush up the leaves does it have an aromatic smell?


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## Fennick

tree-farmer said:


> Here is a better pic. Looking at ragweed pics, it looks similar and so does the pineappleweed but I'm not quite convinced by either.
> 
> Thanks for the help


That's a better picture.

I think that is wormwood. _Artemisia absinthium._ Pineappleweed doesnt get quite that tall or bushy nor does it have as strong a stem as what you're holding sideways. If you hold pineappleweed sideways like that, because it is more fleshy rather than woody-stemmed, it will bend and fall over all limp. Wormwood has a strong, fibrous to woody stem. 

Wormwood also grows everywhere throughout BC. 

Rub and crush some leaves then smell the oils left behind on your fingers. If it's wormwood it will have a very highly aromatic and unique smell, almost perfumey - some people find the smell pleasant, others don't. (I really like it ) 

Taste a tiny pinch off a leaf, if it's wormwood it will taste very bitter but it won't harm you to taste just a little bit. Bitter wormwood is a herb that is used in the production of the famous liqueur Absinthe because of it's very unique aroma and bitterness. Without the bitter wormwood in it, well there would just be no such thing as Absinthe. No other type of plant smells or tastes quite like wormwood.

Cattle and other livestock like to roll on fresh wormwood in the fields because the smell of it on them helps to keep away fleas, lice, ticks, flies and other bothersome insects. In olden days farmers and country peasants used to collect and dry wormwood to use as a winter time strewing herb on their floors and in storage cupboards to help keep away vermin such as fleas, spiders, mice or rats.

Wormwood has toxic thujone in it which is not good for cattle if consumed in any large quantities, and new-born youngsters may be particularly susceptible to the toxin even in small quantities. If dairy cows or goats eat wormwood you can get the bitter taste and smell of it in the milk. So if your animals are grazing on any of it then it's probably a good idea to mow the stuff down.

Pictures of wormwoods plants and flowers (there is more than one kind of wormwood).

Plants
https://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&q=wormwood%20plant&gbv=2&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=OXUrV9fzHM2MjwOu6qCQCQ

Flowers
https://www.google.ca/search?q=worm...m=isch&ei=xocrV4muNcTkjwOsrJTwAw&start=0&sa=N


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## 7thswan

Yes, it looks quite like my cultivated chamomile (german chamomile).

matricaria discoidea of the family asteraceae


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## tree-farmer

I don't think it's pineappleweed. I've seen that stuff growing out of the sidewalk before. Wormwood looks like a definite possibility though


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## tree-farmer

It's flowering now. Still not sure about it


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## Fennick

Please post a close up picture of the flowers only, so we can see what they look like. I only see shapless, blurry yellow blobs in the above picture.


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## ShannonR

Are those flower bunches umbrels or more individual type flowers?

I was wondering if it could be yarrow myself, but that would have umbrel flowers. The vegetation part of the plant looks similar. The flowers are white in my area, but come in yellow, pink, red also.

http://www.edenbrothers.com/store/gold_yarrow_seeds.html?gclid=CMqF_OOz7swCFUdrfgodMRMCwQ


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## bee

if those blooms become buttons without rays..I would think Tansy..had a thought for Sweet Annie but it blooms tiny green flowers. All the plants mentioned are highly aromatic when crushed.
Tansy is perennial and forms a clump but spreads by root and seed. Very woody stems.
Before the bloom pic I was tending toward wild carrot..Queen Annes lace.
Please post a bloom pic..this one gonna bother me...lol!


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## SueBee

If that is Tansy be very careful, it causes deformities in goats that are pregnant. Very bad stuff

http://www.nwcb.wa.gov/detail.asp?weed=119


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## PrairieClover

Please don't enjoy your wormwood too much. You might get arrested.ound:

http://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/edible-innovations/absinthe.htm

It always helps to know the history of our weeds.


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## 7thswan

Def. not cammomile by looks of the flower.


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## 7thswan

PrairieClover said:


> Please don't enjoy your wormwood too much. You might get arrested.ound:
> 
> http://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/edible-innovations/absinthe.htm
> 
> It always helps to know the history of our weeds.


Mom told me about this, she said it was sold with a spoon,but I forgot what she said it was taken for. Thanks for the info.


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## PrairieClover

It is also smoked by a few. So, note to self: I think if you burned it after it died or dried for the season, you may get a little woozy. I wouldn't try it!
I found a drug-forum and it was mentioned there. Yes, some folks actually smoke it.

https://drugs-forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5257


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