In message , Eigenvector
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"Eigenvector" wrote in message
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"Stewart Robert Hinsley" wrote in
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In message ,
Eigenvector writes

"Chris" wrote in message


On Jul 5, 2:32 pm, "Eigenvector" wrote:
I am getting overrun by two weeds this year, well two additional weeds
anyway.

Thing is I never saw them before this year, so I'm wondering
where they came
from (bird droppings??).

At any rate the weeds are reasonably easy to remove, but they are
just so
aggressive

Anway, here are some shots,
First, the garden troll is threatening me for invading his
territoryhttp://photos.imageevent.com/eigenvector/various/websize/P619
0197.JPG

Now, these things appeared last year, utterly out of the blue.
Simple to
pull up, but reproduce like
rabbitshttp://photos.imageevent.com/eigenvector/various/websize/P70502
06.JPGhttp://photos.imageevent.com/eigenvector/various/websize/P705
0207.JPG
They have purplish/green leaves and stems and the leaves resemble
pentagons.

Kinda hard to see it. Could it be Scotch Broom?

Chris


Definitely not Scotch Broom, I have that in spades along the back
fence. Scotch Broom is a very woody scrub, which is also almost
impossible to eradicate. This is a single plant, almost 4 foot tall
when mature with that mass of yellow flowers on top. Like I said,
the stem is almost purple.

The absence of visible details makes identification difficult (I
can't even tell whether the yellow bits are flowers or capitula),
but the habit reminds me of some daisies (Lactuca, Mycelis, ...).
Probably not one of those - the flowers/capitula are too large - but
perhaps a related genus.


I'll try to get a better shot of it, including the leaves.


So here are more shots, of the body. It's tough to get a good clear
shot of something that is 3 feet long and pencil thin.
Here is the base of the weed
http://photos.imageevent.com/eigenve...e/P7060210.JPG
Here is an attempted total shot of a smaller one
http://photos.imageevent.com/eigenve...e/P7060211.JPG
Here is a shot of an immature one growing where they seem to grow best
- in cracks
http://photos.imageevent.com/eigenve...e/P7060212.JPG

The yellow buds at the ends are flowers. They are small 5 petal
flowers about 1/2" in diameter, the petals are long and thin and
arranged in a nice pentagonal shape. I'm almost inclined to think that
these are some kind of Hawkweed.


OK, I had the scale wrong.

If it is some sort of hawkweed, that's more or less what I said. But if
it is, then the yellow things are capitula, not flowers. (The "flower"
of a daisy is a flower head composed of many florets, technically called
a capitulum.)

The only daisy I know with 5 florets in a head (and therefore a really
good imitation of a single flower) is wall lettuce, Mycelis muralis.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mycelis_muralis

[Some daisies have ligulate florets, some have tubular florets, and the
majority of both. There is a large group with only ligulate daisies,
which comprise the tribe Cichorieae. These include lettuces, sow
thistles, hawkweeds, dandelions, and many others. The number of rings of
florets, and the number of florets in a ring varies greatly. Those with
a single ring of florets include the lettuces (Lactuca), wall lettuces
(Mycelis) and, IIRC, alpine sow thistles (Cicerbita), and any others
that have escaped my attention or knowledge. Mycelis is the only one,
AFAIK, that has only 5 florets.]
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley