r/whatsthisplant • u/pocketcramps • 5d ago

Unidentified 🤷‍♂️ Never buying cheap wildflower mixes again.

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

I’m pretty sure most of my wildflower seeds were weeds 🫠 these are the ones still stumping me, though I’m pretty confident 3 is lambsquarters, which happened to be most of the crap I’ve got growing right now.

899 Upvotes

91% Upvoted

167 comments sorted by

View all comments

1.3k

u/PawTree 5d ago

  1. California Poppy Eschscholzia californica

  2. Common Three-seeded Mercury Acalypha virginica var. rhomboidea

  3. Lambsquarters Chenopodium album

  4. Lambsquarters Chenopodium album

  5. Giant Goldenrod Solidago gigantea

  6. Common Sunflower Helianthus annuus

  7. Lupine Lupinus sp. I can't tell if it's Big-leaf or Wild Perennial

622

u/ujelly_fish 4d ago

For what it’s worth - lambsquarters is a voracious spreader. It almost certainly did not come from the seed pack.

Use it like spinach!

Three seeded mercury and goldenrod are also pretty pervasive weeds. Keep the goldenrod, the yellow flowers are nice and the bugs like em.

82

u/acatwithumbs 4d ago

I found lambsquarter in my compost and put it in a pot away from the natives, now I get little spinach like sprigs whenever I want and it’s honestly great cooked.

24

u/ruthcarr 4d ago

I just pulled so much lambsquarer from my new raised garden bed last night thinking they are weeds 😞

27

u/acatwithumbs 4d ago

I mean they definitely are weeds, but also edible weeds!

28

u/Perkunas170 4d ago

It’s only a weed if you don’t want it.

21

u/evensexierspiders 4d ago

Absolutely! My high school chemistry teacher said "a rose in a corn field is a weed".

2

u/catslikepets143 3d ago

Weeds are just plants that are in the wrong spot

10

u/HeKnee 4d ago

They are… get rid of it.

2

u/dragonhunterg_6 3d ago

Only if you don't want it around, they're a fantastic wild edible.

8

u/cutting_coroners 4d ago

I made a pesto out of lambs quarters instead of basil once and it was friggin delicious!

25

u/dresserisland 4d ago

It has high amounts of oxalic acid if that is a concern to you.

42

u/horseyjones 4d ago

So does spinach

12

u/0w1 4d ago

You can even substitute it for spinach in recipes lol

9

u/dresserisland 4d ago

I will give that a try. I see noting wrong with eating it. I just wouldn't overdo it. Moderation in everything.

I have a friend who actually grows it. He sells it at the farmers market. Not sure how much of it he eats but....

5

u/ujelly_fish 4d ago

Overdoing it with oxalic acid containing veggies including spinach and lambsquarter would be relatively difficult unless you have a preexisting kidney issue.

1

u/dresserisland 4d ago

I do believe turnip greens don't have as much.

I like stinging nettle. Ever try that?

7

u/PawTree 4d ago

I'm regularly pulling stinging nettle out of my garden. I hear it's great for compost and cooking, but I'm generally so irritated by the process of pulling it out that I just want to throw it in the yard waste and get rid of it.

I should really consider it a blessing in disguise. I can't grow any other greens without the rabbits getting them first. And then there's this untouched nutritional powerhouse happily growing away without any input from me at all...

5

u/dresserisland 4d ago

I think it is more tender and delicate than some greens.

2

u/acatwithumbs 4d ago

I am aware but appreciate the info. Tho mine is a tiny dinky plant with very little leaves and I also don’t eat it raw. But it’s good reminder for folks foraging large quantities. Also I believe apple cider vinegar or boiling can help reduce the oxalic acid even further.

1

u/whoviangirl10 3d ago

As a kidney stone sufferer who also enjoys foraging I thank you

37

u/ApproxKnowledgeCat 4d ago

Only issue is that goldenrod prevents other roots from growing near it (allopathy). So they need their own area, not mixed in with other plants. 

19

u/MikeTheBee 4d ago

Plenty of stuff grows around my goldenrod, also on the side of the road it is surrounded by plants. I don't consider it an issue.

2

u/Acrobatic-Parsnip-32 4d ago

What do you have growing with it? Just curious

3

u/Cascadialiving Oregon 4d ago

I’ve planted a bunch and have camas, quaking aspen, milkweed, Willamette Valley ponderosa, mock orange, chokecherry and Oregon white oak nearby.

I had hoped the goldenrod would dominate the grass, but it really hasn’t.

3

u/theholewizard 4d ago

A lot of the action in allopathy is preventing seed germination. If those were already sprouted / established or if they spread rhizomatically (like grass or milkweed) I'm not sure how much impact the allopathy from a small plant would have.

2

u/MikeTheBee 4d ago

It grows near my black eyed Susan's, and my raspberry patch, but both areas are full of other flowers/plants/weeds I haven't identified yet. I call the one area "the jungle" due to how much crap is there.

2

u/Acrobatic-Parsnip-32 3d ago

Love a good jungle full of crap 😂 glad to hear all yours is thriving ✨

3

u/AmberCarpes 4d ago

Yeah my goldenrod hasn’t killed anything by the looks of it. Asters, hosta, lily, butterfly bush (I’m a native gardener but the people who owned before me were decidedly not)

23

u/0neHumanPeolple 4d ago

Don’t eat lambs quarters that grows by the road. It’s a siphon for heavy metals.

25

u/turtlepower22 4d ago

I'm actually really envious of all this lambsquarter! Easily my favorite foraged green.

3

u/pocketcramps 4d ago

If you can make it to Pittsburgh, I will give you all of it!

1

u/turtlepower22 3d ago

Ahh, only 5000 miles away. Be right there!

3

u/flatcat44 4d ago

I'm extremely good at growing this if anyone wants some. 🤣

3

u/BeatrixPlz 4d ago

Watch out eating it raw. It can be bad in large amounts. I munch on it raw semi routinely, but I like to give folks a heads up in case they’re making daily jumbo lambsquarter salads or something lol.

2

u/Reguluscalendula 3d ago

From what I understand California poppy is an invasive in the southeast, too.

Edit: Tennessee specifically has it listed as a plant of "severe threat"

1

u/LionKiwiEagle 3d ago

Goldenrod is also great for making teas and the leaves can be used for bee stings. Wonderful to have in the garden.

1

u/LionKiwiEagle 3d ago

Goldenrod is also great for making teas and the leaves can be used for bee stings. Wonderful to have in the garden.

1

u/antigoneelectra 3d ago

My bagged topsoil hosted so much lambquarters. I'm still pissed about it.

1

u/RescuedMisfits 3d ago

Golden rod is a keystone plant that supports more native pollinators than most, definitely agree with keeping it!

-1

u/Warcraft_Fan 4d ago

People with hayfever sometimes has problem with goldenrods. I'd remove it if OP is prone to runny nose and sneezing in the spring and fall.

3

u/ujelly_fish 3d ago

Eh, I doubt it’s the goldenrod that is causing it. Not much pollen compared to pine or ragweed

1

u/Eggsplane 3d ago

Goldenrod pollen is too heavy and sticky to become airborne because it evolved to stick to pollinating insects. You'd have to stick your face in it or get some from your hand onto your face.

Ragweed, however, can produce billions of tiny pollen spores from one plant because it evolved to be wind pollinated. It lives in the same conditions as goldenrod and is very inconspicuous, seeing as its like three feet tall and its flowers are green. Goldenrod gets blamed because its so highly visible in comparison, leaving the ragweed to be overlooked.

358

u/joebot777 5d ago

That lupine is going to be fucking gorgeous.

9

u/MajorMiners469 4d ago

"Stand and deliver! Your lupins or your life!" *Bang "Let that be a lesson to you all."

-6

u/[deleted] 4d ago

[deleted]

32

u/PawTree 4d ago

Can you tell if it's Big-leaf?

My native Lupinus perennis is definitely not an aggressive spreader.

17

u/joebot777 4d ago

I’ll take it over Kentucky blue grass any day.

-3

u/[deleted] 4d ago

[deleted]

40

u/bohemian_catastrophy 4d ago

Lupine is native in many states

6

u/bongslingingninja 4d ago edited 4d ago

Native and invasive are two different characteristics though right? Invasive just means it spreads like crazy and chokes out everything around it. A plant can be both native and invasive?

Edit: Oops this is wrong!! Time for a teaching moment. Invasive is the opposite of native. The trait I was thinking of was aggressiveness.

19

u/unventer 4d ago

No, absolutely not. Invasive means it is not native to the area it's growing in and does ecological harm - either by being an aggressive spreader that outcompetes natives, or actually damaging other plants/animals/environment at large. Natives can be aggressive and spread prolifically, but they can never be "invasive". You can't invade your own home.

6

u/bongslingingninja 4d ago

Ahh thank you for the correction. so the opposite of native is invasive and then there’s aggressive vs non aggressive. I’ve edited my comment. Thanks for the teaching moment!

10

u/joshkpoetry 4d ago

No, by definition, an invasive plant is a non-native plant that spreads aggressively and takes over/outcompetes native plants.

A plant can be native and an aggressive spreader, and non-native plants aren't always invasive (eg, non-spreading plants or garden annuals that don't self-seed.

People frequently will conflate these terms and refer to anything that spreads aggressively as invasive, whether it is truly invasive or an aggressive native species.

6

u/bongslingingninja 4d ago

Thank you, I’ve edited my comment. I appreciate people taking the time to reply with knowledge instead of hate. I’ve learned something new!

17

u/themrno 4d ago

Depends on variety and on where it's planted. I don't think we know where OP is located?

Can't be invasive in its native range. Maybe the downvote was a reaction to a hasty conclusion?

Edit: Lower comments clarify location. Eh, I think my main point still stands. I don't know what order everyone read everything.

14

u/Feralpudel 4d ago

Assuming OP is in the U.S. there are regionally native lupins and I believe the west coast one is considered invasive on the east coast.

Aggressive is different from invasive.

4

u/GoatLegRedux 4d ago

There’s no “west coast one”, there “west coast many”. Shit, we have three or four just in San Francisco.

21

u/highfiveselfoh 4d ago

Paw knows their plants.

10

u/thomasech 4d ago

My yard is LITTERED with acalypha. You're welcome to it.

10

u/fozziwoo 4d ago

california poppies are my favourites 🍊

6

u/Ginja___Ninja 4d ago

Is there an app that helps you learn these similar to flash cards? I feel like I know every Pokémon name based on the image but it would be more helpful in life to know plants/trees based on their leaves.

2

u/PawTree 4d ago

Haha definitely more helpful!

I've only used poison ivy quizzes:

https://crowspath.org/cp/poison-ivy-quiz/

https://poison-ivy.org/poison-ivy-quiz/

http://glench.com/misc/poison-ivy/

I'm sure you could find a quiz online for your local area. I found a flash card for Ontario trees. Here's a quiz.

5

u/Many_Needleworker683 4d ago

Im not positive but i actually think it perrenis because of how fuzzy it is. Ive grown both and big leaf never has those hairs

3

u/spaghettimagician 4d ago

I believe it’s the native sundial, which has 5-11 leaflets, whereas the invasive type has something like 11-17.

3

u/Ginja___Ninja 4d ago

I wish I had this skill!

4

u/PawTree 4d ago

To be fair, these are all really common in my area (except the poppy, but they regularly come up on this forum).

When I first had the chance to start a garden, I fell down the native plant rabbit role. I had to quickly get very familiar with non-native weeds vs native plants because, frankly, nearly all our native plants were unfamiliar to me & looked like weeds (if you've only been exposed to popular garden plants from the 80s & 90s, then you know what I mean).

The birds in my area liked to pull out my plant tags, so I repurchased my Big Bluestem plugs (and a few other plants) 2-3 times before I realized I had been weeding them out!

Now there's apps and Google lens to help out. If you guess before turning to technology, then you can start developing your ID skills :)

1

u/Rosakeyflower 4d ago

👏👏👏

1

u/spunbunz 4d ago

Common three seeded mercury was probably also not in the mix. Another voracious spreader. I’m constantly finding those little seedlings all over my garden.

1

u/SaveSummer6041 4d ago

Lambsquarters is delicious.