We're in SE Massachusetts, USA.

The first plant popped up in a flower garden. We dubbed it EG (the
Enthustiastic Grower). It's about 8 feet tall.

The second plant (OMP- Other Mystery Plant) came up in the vegetable
garden. That might be relevant because household vegetable scraps get
buried out there. These things have been coming up all summer, but
it's tailed off quite a bit in the last month. I'd say I've dealt with
at least 1,000 seedlings, maybe 2,000. I let this one grow just to try
to get a handle on what the heck it is. It's about 4 feet tall at the
moment. They're mostly confined to an area about 12 feet in diameter,
but their range extends out to close to a 20 foot diameter.

If anyone knows what these guys are I'd *really* appreciate it if
you'd share!! My mother's been gardening here for over 60 years, and
she's stumped.

EG
http://home.comcast.net/~lmnnml/Gard...1-Longshot.JPG
http://home.comcast.net/~lmnnml/Garden/EG-2-Flowers.JPG
http://home.comcast.net/~lmnnml/Gard...ne-to-seed.JPG
http://home.comcast.net/~lmnnml/Gard...seup-sorta.JPG

OMP
http://home.comcast.net/~lmnnml/Garden/OMP-1.JPG
http://home.comcast.net/~lmnnml/Garden/OMP-2.JPG
http://home.comcast.net/~lmnnml/Gard...3-Seedling.JPG
http://home.comcast.net/~lmnnml/Gard...r-seedling.JPG

On 7/21/12 1:49 AM, Steve Baker wrote:
We're in SE Massachusetts, USA.

The first plant popped up in a flower garden. We dubbed it EG (the
Enthustiastic Grower). It's about 8 feet tall.

The second plant (OMP- Other Mystery Plant) came up in the vegetable
garden. That might be relevant because household vegetable scraps get
buried out there. These things have been coming up all summer, but
it's tailed off quite a bit in the last month. I'd say I've dealt with
at least 1,000 seedlings, maybe 2,000. I let this one grow just to try
to get a handle on what the heck it is. It's about 4 feet tall at the
moment. They're mostly confined to an area about 12 feet in diameter,
but their range extends out to close to a 20 foot diameter.

If anyone knows what these guys are I'd *really* appreciate it if
you'd share!! My mother's been gardening here for over 60 years, and
she's stumped.

EG
http://home.comcast.net/~lmnnml/Gard...1-Longshot.JPG
http://home.comcast.net/~lmnnml/Garden/EG-2-Flowers.JPG
http://home.comcast.net/~lmnnml/Gard...ne-to-seed.JPG
http://home.comcast.net/~lmnnml/Gard...seup-sorta.JPG

OMP
http://home.comcast.net/~lmnnml/Garden/OMP-1.JPG
http://home.comcast.net/~lmnnml/Garden/OMP-2.JPG
http://home.comcast.net/~lmnnml/Gard...3-Seedling.JPG
http://home.comcast.net/~lmnnml/Gard...r-seedling.JPG


EG: If the stem is hollow, leaves and stems contain a milky sap, and
the stems are prickly, I think this is sow thistle, a nasty weed.

OMP: I have no idea.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean, see
http://www.rossde.com/garden/climate.html
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary

I don't usually try to ID DYCs (D*** Yellow Compositae) from photos, but
I'll send you to look among the Lactuca species for the first one.
http://plants.usda.gov/java/stateSea...ag eField.y=7

The second sure looks like redroot pigweed, Amaranthus retroflexus,
but again, from photos, it's an iffy ID.

Did you bring in manure or compost from an outside source? Birdfeeder?

Kay

On Sat, 21 Jul 2012 10:02:18 -0700, "David E. Ross"
wrote:

EG: If the stem is hollow, leaves and stems contain a milky sap, and
the stems are prickly, I think this is sow thistle, a nasty weed.

Thanks for looking!

The stem is hollow, but the sap isn't milky, and it's not prickly.

On 21 Jul 2012 21:42:03 GMT, Kay Lancaster wrote:

Thanks for looking!

I don't usually try to ID DYCs (D*** Yellow Compositae) from photos, but
I'll send you to look among the Lactuca species for the first one.
http://plants.usda.gov/java/stateSea...ag eField.y=7

Except for the fact that the sap isn't milky, Lactuca canadensis
looks like a perfect match.

The second sure looks like redroot pigweed, Amaranthus retroflexus,
but again, from photos, it's an iffy ID.

That looks like a good match. The pictures and descriptions I found
around the 'net all support that ID.

Did you bring in manure or compost from an outside source?

No... except for stuff from the supermarket. ;-)

Birdfeeder?

Hmm. Sometime in the fairly recent past the birds stopped eating the
stuff in the feeder that was supposed to be thistle, I think. I dumped
a gallon or two of it somewhere. I don't remember where, though. I
don't think I would have been stupid enough to dump it in the
vegetable garden, but I wouldn't bet my life on it.

Thanks again!

On Mon, 23 Jul 2012 08:13:57 -0400, PhoenixWench
wrote:

Thanks for taking a look!

For EG you might look at the bottom of this page and then follow up on
the names separately - if you are not getting the milky sap and prickles
there are a couple here that may be your EG - good luck ;-)

Do you mean
http://science.halleyhosting.com/nat...capillaris.htm
, the link you posted in your other message? I'm not sure which other
names I should be following up on. But that smooth hawksbeard only
grows about 3 feet tall (EG was 8 feet tall), and, from what I've
read, it does have milky sap.

I'm thinking maybe EG does have milky sap, but I didn't really
notice because there was hardly any sap at all oozing out of it. I cut
it down, ripped the leaves, etc., off, and cut it all up into smallish
pieces to put into a trash bag. When I was done I only had a few
little sticky spots on my hands, and just barely noticable residue on
the cutting tools.

On Tue, 24 Jul 2012 07:31:08 -0400, PhoenixWench
wrote:

Based on you statement of no milky sap the hawksbeard sounded feasible,
but if there was, in fact, milky sap it sounds more like the previously
suggested sow thistle.

Well, the sow thistle is supposed to be prickly. I basically tore EG
apart with my bare hands, and it wasn't prickly. And (not previously
mentioned), the sow thistle has larger diameter blossoms than EG. So,
discounting the (lack of almost any sap) milky sap, Kay Lancaster's
suggestion to look at the "Lactuca species", specifically Lactuca
canadensis, looks like the winner to me.

Thanks again, Kay! And thanks to all!!