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Old 17-06-2003, 08:32 AM
R.C. Keely
 
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Default Interesting weed, ID help?

I'm in southern Ontario, Canada; hoping someone is familiar with this
plant (weed?) that has a "throwing" mechanism:

About 6 inches tall, is growing in patches in dry sunny areas, has pale
green, sparse needle-like leaves less than 1" long on upright stalks...
I noticed for the first time today its interesting ability to hurl many
small projectiles when the plant is lightly touched or walked on. It
throws them a couple feet up and out. They must be seeds of some kind,
but on examination appear as tiny green coils or springs, 2-3 mm in
size... does this ring a bell with anyone?

Thanks,
Rebecca
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Old 17-06-2003, 01:32 PM
Jim Elbrecht
 
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Default Interesting weed, ID help?

"R.C. Keely" wrote:

I'm in southern Ontario, Canada; hoping someone is familiar with this
plant (weed?) that has a "throwing" mechanism:

About 6 inches tall, is growing in patches in dry sunny areas, has pale
green, sparse needle-like leaves less than 1" long on upright stalks...
I noticed for the first time today its interesting ability to hurl many
small projectiles when the plant is lightly touched or walked on. It
throws them a couple feet up and out. They must be seeds of some kind,
but on examination appear as tiny green coils or springs, 2-3 mm in
size... does this ring a bell with anyone?


Perhaps Jewelweed? Also called 'Touch-me-not' in our part of the
world. [Upstate NY] We used the flowers as earrings when kids, and
I've used the juice to neutralize poison ivy juice with apparent
success.

http://altnature.com/jewelweed.htm

[this is an ad for a tincture that uses Jewelweed. I have no
experience with it, I use the juice straight from the plant. The
site has a good picture though.]

Jim
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Old 17-06-2003, 03:08 PM
Penny Morgan
 
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Default Interesting weed, ID help?

Sounds exactly like what we used to call wild "vetch". We had it all over
our farm in upstate NY (Champlain) bordering Canada and Vermont.

I moved to Raleigh, NC eight years ago and it's quite common here too. I
just sprayed some that is growing like crazy under my front porch and trying
to invade my front flower beds. It weaves itself into plants and bushes
and tries to choke them. It does send out those small coily springs that
you mentioned too.

Someone else may have a different name for it.

Penny
Zone 7b - North Carolina
"R.C. Keely" wrote in message
.. .
I'm in southern Ontario, Canada; hoping someone is familiar with this
plant (weed?) that has a "throwing" mechanism:

About 6 inches tall, is growing in patches in dry sunny areas, has pale
green, sparse needle-like leaves less than 1" long on upright stalks...
I noticed for the first time today its interesting ability to hurl many
small projectiles when the plant is lightly touched or walked on. It
throws them a couple feet up and out. They must be seeds of some kind,
but on examination appear as tiny green coils or springs, 2-3 mm in
size... does this ring a bell with anyone?

Thanks,
Rebecca
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Old 17-06-2003, 04:08 PM
Jim Elbrecht
 
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Default Interesting weed, ID help?

"R.C. Keely" wrote:
-snip-
About 6 inches tall, is growing in patches in dry sunny areas,


-snip-

I'm going to have another cup of coffee and agree with Penny.

Vetch fits your description.
http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/land/...eets/crown.htm

Other than being taller, with different leaves, different habit,
different colored flowers, and liking to have its 'feet wet',
Jewelweed was a pretty good guess.g [At least it does throw it
seeds--- that is about all they have in common.]

Jim

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Old 17-06-2003, 06:32 PM
R.C. Keely
 
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Default Interesting weed, ID help?

I'm going to have another cup of coffee and agree with Penny.

Vetch fits your description.
http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/land/...eets/crown.htm

Other than being taller, with different leaves, different habit,
different colored flowers, and liking to have its 'feet wet',
Jewelweed was a pretty good guess.g [At least it does throw it
seeds--- that is about all they have in common.]


Hmmm... no, it doesn't really look like either vetch or jewelweed but I
gave a poor description, I know. I saw it at a farm yesterday so I'm
going on memory.

The leaves are more like needles, but soft, and the plant is upright,
not creeping or twining. The little coils it throws aren't visible
when you look at it; it seems to create them from the straight needles
somehow when it's touched. It's some interesting mechanism... if I ran
my hand up the plant, I could feel it "snapping" to make the little
coils and it throws them quite far.

I am looking at some photo databases, it must be there somewhere... ;-)
Thank you both.

Rebecca
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Old 17-06-2003, 10:08 PM
animaux
 
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Default Interesting weed, ID help?

Do a search for horse nettle.
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Old 17-06-2003, 10:56 PM
R.C. Keely
 
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Default Interesting weed, ID help?

animaux wrote:

Do a search for horse nettle.


This turned up pictures of a plant with large broad leaves. I need
something small and with sparse needle-like leaves, are you sure you
meant horse nettle?

Rebecca
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Old 18-06-2003, 12:08 AM
animaux
 
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Default Interesting weed, ID help?

On Tue, 17 Jun 2003 20:29:22 GMT, "R.C. Keely"
wrote:

animaux wrote:

Do a search for horse nettle.


This turned up pictures of a plant with large broad leaves. I need
something small and with sparse needle-like leaves, are you sure you
meant horse nettle?

Rebecca


Can you describe it again? I'm sorry, I don't think I saw the original
message.
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Old 18-06-2003, 06:32 PM
R.C. Keely
 
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Default Interesting weed, ID help?

animaux wrote:

Do a search for horse nettle.


This turned up pictures of a plant with large broad leaves. I need
something small and with sparse needle-like leaves, are you sure you
meant horse nettle?

Rebecca


Can you describe it again? I'm sorry, I don't think I saw the
original message.


The weed is pale green, small (6-8") and upright with needle-like leaves
about an inch long or less. It grows as a sparse clump of stems that
don't seem to branch much, with the needles radiating off the stems. The
things it throws when you touch it are tiny tight coils, maybe 2-4mm in
size (1/16 inches?) It throws them a couple feet up and out even if just
lightly touched.

I've seen this stuff a million times, I just never noticed its ability
to throw these spores before (I always thought bugs were jumping off it,
rather than the plant throwing something.) I have looked through a bunch
of weed databases and can't find a picture that looks much like it.
However I did find an old usenet posting from someone who seems to be
describing the same plant. Unfortunately nobody replied:

From: John Barrett )
Subject: Unidentified Weed - How to control
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Date: 1996/05/06
I was finally weeding all my landscaping yesterday and found this new
(at least to me) weed which seems to have taken over! It has "needles"
about 1/2 - 1 inch long and when you brush up against it, seems to
"explode" and shoot small, yellowish spores all over the place. Does
anyone know what it is and once I pull all of it (which causes more
spores to shoot out), will Preen or something similar prevent these
spores from growing?


I was glad to find this post. I was starting to think I imagined the
whole thing. ;-)
Rebecca
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Old 23-04-2010, 09:38 PM
Registered User
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by R.C. Keely View Post
I'm in southern Ontario, Canada; hoping someone is familiar with this
plant (weed?) that has a "throwing" mechanism:

About 6 inches tall, is growing in patches in dry sunny areas, has pale
green, sparse needle-like leaves less than 1" long on upright stalks...
I noticed for the first time today its interesting ability to hurl many
small projectiles when the plant is lightly touched or walked on. It
throws them a couple feet up and out. They must be seeds of some kind,
but on examination appear as tiny green coils or springs, 2-3 mm in
size... does this ring a bell with anyone?

Thanks,
Rebecca
--
I have the same weed - I live in suburban Atlanta, Georgia, USA. At first I thought the weed was a voluntary return of an herb growing near our mailbox (thyme maybe). The plant is short - one stalk with some small shoots and the needles in clusters that make it look almost like a seedling evergreen popping up.

As I said, I thought it was the return of an herb, but the color was an unusual sick sort of pale green. I reached down to pick some needles to sniff - a sure identification whether it is the herb or not - and when I touch the plant the needles exploded all over! It startled me - thought it was a snake striking at my hand! I recoiled and studied the situation and realized that my touch had triggered the plant to "throw" the needles.

I'm not much of a gardener, but this plant has so intrigued me that I decided to search it out. No one in my sphere of friends seems to know, but a couple of people have seen it in their yards as well. One gardening friend said it is a worthless nuisance weed and that was all she had to add to the knowledge base.
I'm determined to learn more about this crazy weed!

So far, the suggestions here on this topic are not close. This has no "leaves" - only needles. They look like the tips of pine needles or something similar - short (about .5 to 1" or 1.25 cm). The green is not a bright green...almost a brownish green. When one touches it, the needles jump from the plant in a burst - like a handful of rice at a wedding!

I have never seen it in my yard before this year, but the way these needles spread I suspect I'm in for a fight. I wish it were possible to post pictures (or in this case video) on this forum!

-Steve in Marietta
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