On 18/10/19 23:59, Stewart Robert Hinsley wrote:

Finally: hmm - we _do_ feed the birds a lot: rogue bird seeds?

That's a useful hint. Plant A looks too hairy for Guizotia abyssinica,
but there's a rare relative by the name of Guizotia scabra. Is the plant
sticky?

Now you can see why I said you'd soon be along to ID it! :-)

Some years ago I used some spare Niger/Nyjer seed as a quick-growing
plant for composting. I must say that "quick-growing" doesn't do it
justice! Even growing on top of a weed-proof membrane under a 5 cm
"mulch" of 2 - 3 cm pebbles it got to almost 2 metres in a couple of
months. The strange thing is that I'd been feeding Niger to the birds
for several years, but don't remember ever seeing it grow before. Had
that earlier seed been treated (gamma radiated, perhaps) to sterilise it?

--

Jeff