# New info on wild plants



## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

These wild plants have been difficult to pen down as to identity:

The first plant is the one we posted here awhile back. Some thought it was nettle, yet there was no sting. Some thought it was a mint, yet when leaf crushed there was no mint smell. I sent a sample of it to the local ag lab and, before it got to them, it had begun to rot; so they could not ID it. Here is a picture of its seed heads; and from this I am hoping someone in here recognizes it.










This second is what some thought was primrose and the local lab identified it as "ironweed" (Vermonia sp.). I am wondering if they are not one and the same.










This last picture is of a new plant found today. The "Edible Wild Plants" book shows something like it and identifies it as a "Downey Wood-mint" (Blephilia Ciliata). However, David said the leaves are bitter tasting and it apparently is suppose to have a white downey underneath the leaves. These don't.


----------



## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

Last one is Prunella, self heal or heals all.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prunella_vulgaris

Ironweed is not primrose. I could tell in a second which it is if it was flowering. Primrose would have large yellow flowers and ironweed has small purple fuzzy looking flowers in large clusters.

The top one is a mint, mentha to be more precise. The square stem alone tells you it is a mint.

Ironweed:
http://www.google.com/search?q=iron...yKsLFgAeT6qXvBQ&ved=0CDkQsAQ&biw=1280&bih=603

Missouri primrose:
http://www.missouriplants.com/Yellowalt/Oenothera_missouriensis_page.html


----------



## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

Thanks Danaus29, I always learn much from you. I will visit those urls.


----------



## rockhound (Sep 25, 2009)

The first photo could be Stoneroot. Dig up a plant and see if the roots are hard as a rock.


----------



## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

Rockhound, the first image does not have the characteristics of "Stoneroot", i.e. flowers are not lemon scented and are too tiny to have long stamens. Also the whole plant does not have a strong odor that is pungent and spicy with lemony notes. (I'll have to take a closer look; but I don't recall the stems being squared.)

Danaus29, I think you're right about the last plant above being "Prunella, self heal or heals all". This is the first year we've ever seen this plant; so David went out hoping to find enough to transplant. He found loads of them with rather shallow root systems. Knowing the flowers would be gone before long and that we probably would not be able to recognize it later on with all the growth around it, he decided to dig some up. (I know this is not a good time of year to transplant; but we thought we'ld experiment with a few and see what happens. We did this with some passion fruit and the transplants are growing and healthy looking.) I prepared about six 5 ft sq spots and David dug up about 30, placing them in the garden where the soil/sun/shade was similar to the area from which they were taken. Then he mulched them well. I sure hope they do well as this plant seems like a real nice medicinal one to have around.


----------



## Bat Farm (Apr 21, 2010)

Danaus29 said:


> The square stem alone tells you it is a mint.


This is not always correct (I thought that too until I learned about verbena, a very useful plant!). There are a few families of square stem plants that are not mints such as figwort and verbena.

Here is a cut away of the mint flower form. If you have a magnifying glass you may be able to see if your flowers have the correct shape.

http://www.botany.wisc.edu/garden/UW-Botanical_Garden/Lamiaceae.html


----------



## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

Bat Farm, the plant above has flowers that are on elongated stems, not coming from the base of leaves.


----------



## Annie (May 10, 2002)

The top one looks like white vervain now that it's flowering. I've got one growing by my water hose.


----------



## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

The order Lamiales which includes the family Verbenaceae is the mint order. Also included is Scrophulariaceae, figworts.

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/328712/Lamiales


----------



## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

Vervain? Golly I still have some Vervain seeds I tried to sprout in ziplocks. They never did sprout so I put them back in the fridge.  Will google "white vervain" and see what the internet comes up with. Thanks.


----------



## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

I double checked the first plant and it definately has square stems. 

Finally! after so many months of trying to ID this plant, we have finally found out what it is. Many thanks to you good folk in here.

It looks exactly like "White Vervain". In reading the information about the vervain I have in the fridge, it states "lavender" flowers will show up; so I guess those are "blue vervain" seeds, which apparently is more helpful medicinally than the white variety.


----------



## Bat Farm (Apr 21, 2010)

Danaus29 said:


> The order Lamiales which includes the family Verbenaceae is the mint order. Also included is Scrophulariaceae, figworts.
> 
> http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/328712/Lamiales


Well that's cool to know. I was only going back as far as family :smack :gaptooth:

Well at least my generic guess of verbena was right. I'm never really good at narrowing it down from there, you folks rock :rock:


----------



## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

Well, I just had a terrible thought!

Went out the last few mornings to find the plant (#2 above) full of primrose blooms. (That is the plant the county lab department identified as "ironweed", telling me it was not a useful plant.) Today David discovered the plant that lab identifed as "ragweed" had a head on it that looks like amaranth. Golly! Now I cannot trust the agricultural lab to correctly ID somethingl


----------



## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

Bat Farm, well I did say mentha. But you nailed it. I've been trying to id that plant for a few years now.

motdaugrnds, do you have any pictures of the ragweed/amaranth plant? I can tell you in a minute which it is and they do NOT look alike at all!


----------



## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

Yes, I will get them up as soon as I can. (In researching and comparing the two, I discovered the leaves are totally different.)


----------



## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

Here is a picture of what was identified as "toxic, not edible 'Amaranthus retrflexus redroot pigweed'" by the county lab department.










Here is a simila-looking plant but with thorns. 










And here is what we know for sure is a "Golden Amaranth" because we planted it. (Almost mowed it down as it was growing because it looked like weeds.)










We know the seeds heads on the golden amaranth are edible; but are the heads on the pigweed edible too?


----------



## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

Toxicity info:
http://www.vet.purdue.edu/toxic/plant33.htm
Some toxins are neutralized by cooking. The ones in pigweed may fall in that category. I'd have to do more research to find out.

This might be your spiny amaranth:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amaranthus_spinosus

I think I would notify the lab that the 2 year old assigned to id your plants messed up big time. They need to know their id was incorrect.

Uses info, amaranthus retroflexus
http://www.naturalmedicinalherbs.net/herbs/a/amaranthus-retroflexus=pigweed.php


----------



## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

Danaus29, thank you for the urls; and yes, I am going to let the ag agent who sent those to the lab what occurred. I don't know where the lab is located or I would let them know myself.

We have a lot of this pigweed and would love to use the seeds if possible. I, too, need more research before doing so. (I doubt they are anything like the golden amaranth, which have no hulls.)


----------

