i.d. mystery plant?
 

I posted over on the binaries.pictures.gardens but no response so far...
thought I'd try here too...

I bought this in 1972 as a tiny 89 cent pot plant and I have never seen
another one just like it... I think it is some kind of asparagus but not
any that I can identify.

I have never seen any flower or fruit on it - however 'insignificant'. I
have tried to divide it and nearly killed it.

It has appreciable thorns.

TIA,
Sterling

http://home.comcast.net/~sterhill/plant.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~sterhill/plant_cu.jpg

also a baby tree of some kind...?? About 10" tall - shot with a piece of
white paper behind to increase detail. Looks like some kind of pine or
fir??
http://home.comcast.net/~sterhill/baby_tree.jpg

"Sterling" wrote in message
...
I posted over on the binaries.pictures.gardens but no response so far...
thought I'd try here too...

I bought this in 1972 as a tiny 89 cent pot plant and I have never seen
another one just like it... I think it is some kind of asparagus but not
any that I can identify.

I have never seen any flower or fruit on it - however 'insignificant'. I
have tried to divide it and nearly killed it.

It has appreciable thorns.

TIA,
Sterling

http://home.comcast.net/~sterhill/plant.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~sterhill/plant_cu.jpg

also a baby tree of some kind...?? About 10" tall - shot with a piece of
white paper behind to increase detail. Looks like some kind of pine or
fir??
http://home.comcast.net/~sterhill/baby_tree.jpg

http://www.fuller.net/~jamie/aferns.htm

and a sprig of Rosemary..pinch some of it in
your hand and if it smells like rosemary, then
that is what it is

alice

1 - not either A. densiflorus sprengeri or A. plumosus

2 - absolutely not rosemary - I have quite a few varieties of rosemary
as I like to cook with it.

Thanks for trying...

alice wrote:
"Sterling" wrote in message
...

I posted over on the binaries.pictures.gardens but no response so far...
thought I'd try here too...

I bought this in 1972 as a tiny 89 cent pot plant and I have never seen
another one just like it... I think it is some kind of asparagus but not
any that I can identify.

I have never seen any flower or fruit on it - however 'insignificant'. I
have tried to divide it and nearly killed it.

It has appreciable thorns.

TIA,
Sterling

http://home.comcast.net/~sterhill/plant.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~sterhill/plant_cu.jpg

also a baby tree of some kind...?? About 10" tall - shot with a piece of
white paper behind to increase detail. Looks like some kind of pine or
fir??
http://home.comcast.net/~sterhill/baby_tree.jpg


http://www.fuller.net/~jamie/aferns.htm

and a sprig of Rosemary..pinch some of it in
your hand and if it smells like rosemary, then
that is what it is

alice

I wouldn't even hazard a guess from such bad pictures.

Never use back lighting for a picture of a plant you want identified.


"Sterling" wrote in message
...
1 - not either A. densiflorus sprengeri or A. plumosus

2 - absolutely not rosemary - I have quite a few varieties of rosemary as
I like to cook with it.

Thanks for trying...

alice wrote:
"Sterling" wrote in message
...

I posted over on the binaries.pictures.gardens but no response so far...
thought I'd try here too...

I bought this in 1972 as a tiny 89 cent pot plant and I have never seen
another one just like it... I think it is some kind of asparagus but not
any that I can identify.

I have never seen any flower or fruit on it - however 'insignificant'. I
have tried to divide it and nearly killed it.

It has appreciable thorns.

TIA,
Sterling

http://home.comcast.net/~sterhill/plant.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~sterhill/plant_cu.jpg

also a baby tree of some kind...?? About 10" tall - shot with a piece of
white paper behind to increase detail. Looks like some kind of pine or
fir??
http://home.comcast.net/~sterhill/baby_tree.jpg


http://www.fuller.net/~jamie/aferns.htm

and a sprig of Rosemary..pinch some of it in
your hand and if it smells like rosemary, then
that is what it is

alice

Cereus-validus....... wrote:
I wouldn't even hazard a guess from such bad pictures.

Never use back lighting for a picture of a plant you want identified.


This plant is very difficult to photograph - try this one for a flash
fill... I thought the back lighting showed the silhouette better...

http://home.comcast.net/~sterhill/myst3.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~sterhill/myst4.jpg

I have tried putting it against a plain white wall to photograph it but
the shadows of the million tiny leaves make it even harder to distinguish.

Suggestions are welcome. And you have an excellent track record for
identification.

TIA,
Sterling

Why on earth would you think a silhouette would be any good for
identification?

This time try taking pictures with the curtains pulled down and close up so
one can actually see some detail.

A ruler in the pix for size comparison is a good idea too.

Don't believe it to be an Asparagus but it is still very nondescript from
the pix.

Dr. House and I try our darnedest to be very good at diagnoses.


"Sterling" wrote in message
...
Cereus-validus....... wrote:
I wouldn't even hazard a guess from such bad pictures.

Never use back lighting for a picture of a plant you want identified.


This plant is very difficult to photograph - try this one for a flash
fill... I thought the back lighting showed the silhouette better...

http://home.comcast.net/~sterhill/myst3.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~sterhill/myst4.jpg

I have tried putting it against a plain white wall to photograph it but
the shadows of the million tiny leaves make it even harder to distinguish.

Suggestions are welcome. And you have an excellent track record for
identification.

TIA,
Sterling

Sterling wrote:
I posted over on the binaries.pictures.gardens but no response so far...
thought I'd try here too...

I bought this in 1972 as a tiny 89 cent pot plant and I have never seen
another one just like it... I think it is some kind of asparagus but not
any that I can identify.

I have never seen any flower or fruit on it - however 'insignificant'. I
have tried to divide it and nearly killed it.

It has appreciable thorns.

TIA,
Sterling

http://home.comcast.net/~sterhill/plant.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~sterhill/plant_cu.jpg

also a baby tree of some kind...?? About 10" tall - shot with a piece of
white paper behind to increase detail. Looks like some kind of pine or
fir??
http://home.comcast.net/~sterhill/baby_tree.jpg

My thoughts are some sort of bamboo, but (a) it's hard to tell, because
the photo doesn't show the stem well at all; and (b) there are a
gazillion and one types of bamboo out there. Many species have thorns.

I don't think the little tree is a pine, which have needles attached to
the stem in fan-like clusters of 2-5 needles depending on species. Fir
needles are attached individually, and flatish. Spruce needles are
usually square in cross-section (except Norway spruce, which is triangular).

DrLith wrote:
Sterling wrote:
I posted over on the binaries.pictures.gardens but no
response so
far... thought I'd try here too...

I bought this in 1972 as a tiny 89 cent pot plant and I have
never seen another one just like it... I think it is some
kind of
asparagus but not any that I can identify.

I have never seen any flower or fruit on it - however
'insignificant'. I have tried to divide it and nearly killed
it.

It has appreciable thorns.

TIA,
Sterling

http://home.comcast.net/~sterhill/plant.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~sterhill/plant_cu.jpg

also a baby tree of some kind...?? About 10" tall - shot with
a
piece of white paper behind to increase detail. Looks like
some
kind of pine or fir??
http://home.comcast.net/~sterhill/baby_tree.jpg

My thoughts are some sort of bamboo, but (a) it's hard to tell,
because the photo doesn't show the stem well at all; and (b)
there are a
gazillion and one types of bamboo out there. Many species have
thorns.

Name one bamboo that has thorns.

snip

--

Travis in Shoreline (just North of Seattle) Washington
USDA Zone 8
Sunset Zone 5

Travis wrote:
DrLith wrote:

Sterling wrote:
I posted over on the binaries.pictures.gardens but no response so
far... thought I'd try here too...

I bought this in 1972 as a tiny 89 cent pot plant and I have
never seen another one just like it... I think it is some kind of
asparagus but not any that I can identify.

I have never seen any flower or fruit on it - however
'insignificant'. I have tried to divide it and nearly killed it.

It has appreciable thorns.

TIA,
Sterling

http://home.comcast.net/~sterhill/plant.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~sterhill/plant_cu.jpg

also a baby tree of some kind...?? About 10" tall - shot with a
piece of white paper behind to increase detail. Looks like some
kind of pine or fir??
http://home.comcast.net/~sterhill/baby_tree.jpg

My thoughts are some sort of bamboo, but (a) it's hard to tell,
because the photo doesn't show the stem well at all; and (b) there are a
gazillion and one types of bamboo out there. Many species have
thorns.


Name one bamboo that has thorns.

Guadua angustifolia (a south american bamboo)
Bambusa spinosa
Bambusa sinospinosa
Bambusa blumeana
Bambusa bambos
Chimonobambusa pachystachys
Bambusa arundinacea

DrLith wrote:
Travis wrote:
DrLith wrote:

Sterling wrote:
I posted over on the binaries.pictures.gardens but no
response so far... thought I'd try here too...

I bought this in 1972 as a tiny 89 cent pot plant and I
have
never seen another one just like it... I think it is some

kind of asparagus but not any that I can identify.

I have never seen any flower or fruit on it - however
'insignificant'. I have tried to divide it and nearly
killed
it.

It has appreciable thorns.

TIA,
Sterling

http://home.comcast.net/~sterhill/plant.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~sterhill/plant_cu.jpg

also a baby tree of some kind...?? About 10" tall - shot
with
a piece of white paper behind to increase detail. Looks
like some kind of pine or fir??
http://home.comcast.net/~sterhill/baby_tree.jpg

My thoughts are some sort of bamboo, but (a) it's hard to
tell,
because the photo doesn't show the stem well at all; and
(b)
there are a gazillion and one types of bamboo out there.
Many
species have thorns.


Name one bamboo that has thorns.

Guadua angustifolia (a south american bamboo)
Bambusa spinosa
Bambusa sinospinosa
Bambusa blumeana
Bambusa bambos
Chimonobambusa pachystachys
Bambusa arundinacea

Thank you.

--

Travis in Shoreline (just North of Seattle) Washington
USDA Zone 8
Sunset Zone 5

Sterling wrote in
:

also a baby tree of some kind...?? About 10" tall - shot with a piece
of white paper behind to increase detail. Looks like some kind of
pine or fir??
http://home.comcast.net/~sterhill/baby_tree.jpg

A Juniper seedling perhaps. I get volunteer seedlings that resemble your
photo, and don't have the scaly leaves of their cultivar parents.

--
----------------------------------------------------------------
A L B E R T A Alfred Falk
R E S E A R C H Information Systems Dept (780)450-5185
C O U N C I L 250 Karl Clark Road
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
http://www.arc.ab.ca/ T6N 1E4
http://www.arc.ab.ca/staff/falk/

well I have junipers around here so maybe - I think I'll pot it up for now.

Thanks,
Sterling

Alfred Falk wrote:
Sterling wrote in
:


also a baby tree of some kind...?? About 10" tall - shot with a piece
of white paper behind to increase detail. Looks like some kind of
pine or fir??
http://home.comcast.net/~sterhill/baby_tree.jpg


A Juniper seedling perhaps. I get volunteer seedlings that resemble your
photo, and don't have the scaly leaves of their cultivar parents.

Looks like some type of bamboo? Can you take close-ups of the leaf
clusters and the main stems? That will help.

On Tue, 27 Sep 2005 22:13:58 -0400, Sterling
wrote:

Cereus-validus....... wrote:
I wouldn't even hazard a guess from such bad pictures.

Never use back lighting for a picture of a plant you want identified.


This plant is very difficult to photograph - try this one for a flash
fill... I thought the back lighting showed the silhouette better...

http://home.comcast.net/~sterhill/myst3.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~sterhill/myst4.jpg

I have tried putting it against a plain white wall to photograph it but
the shadows of the million tiny leaves make it even harder to distinguish.

Suggestions are welcome. And you have an excellent track record for
identification.

TIA,
Sterling

On Wed, 28 Sep 2005 23:33:12 GMT, fran
wrote:

replying to my own message - just saw the other posting. I have no
clue what this critter is. Has it ever bloomed? And how often do
you trim it back?

I put up a web page with rulers and close ups and all
http://home.comcast.net/~sterhill/plant/plant.html

never bloomed - or before someone says 'everything blooms' - I'll say I
have never seen any bloom or berry on this...

fran wrote:
On Wed, 28 Sep 2005 23:33:12 GMT, fran
wrote:

replying to my own message - just saw the other posting. I have no
clue what this critter is. Has it ever bloomed? And how often do
you trim it back?