Plant ID
 

Ok, it's my turn for the plant ID game! I'm afraid I don't have a
picture to post, because the connector cable to the digicam is still
packed in a mystery box somewhere.

Anyhow, it is a pretty flowering plant (almost certainly a perennial) a
few blocks down the street...about 30" tall, bearing 1" flowers that
look quite "viola-like" in purple with white. The flowers are born on a
long spike, close in to the stem--rather like a hollyhock, except the
flowers look nothing like hollyhocks. The leaves average 2-4",
lanceolate, lightly crenolated, in opposing pairs. The plant as a whole
branches into multiple spikes, also in opposing pairs.

I've never seen it before, and I've got a reasonable knowledge of common
perennials. If anyone can identify this thing--which looks rather like a
cross between a pansy and a hollyhock, with maybe a touch of snapdragon
in the mix (yes, I know such a thing is not possible--that's just what
it looks like!), I'd be grateful.

It would be best if you think really hard and remember where you put that
mystery box and post that digicam picture really soon.

"looks rather like a cross between a pansy and a hollyhock, with maybe a
touch of snapdragon" really doesn't help.


"DrLith" wrote in message
...
Ok, it's my turn for the plant ID game! I'm afraid I don't have a picture
to post, because the connector cable to the digicam is still packed in a
mystery box somewhere.

Anyhow, it is a pretty flowering plant (almost certainly a perennial) a
few blocks down the street...about 30" tall, bearing 1" flowers that look
quite "viola-like" in purple with white. The flowers are born on a long
spike, close in to the stem--rather like a hollyhock, except the flowers
look nothing like hollyhocks. The leaves average 2-4", lanceolate, lightly
crenolated, in opposing pairs. The plant as a whole branches into multiple
spikes, also in opposing pairs.

I've never seen it before, and I've got a reasonable knowledge of common
perennials. If anyone can identify this thing--which looks rather like a
cross between a pansy and a hollyhock, with maybe a touch of snapdragon in
the mix (yes, I know such a thing is not possible--that's just what it
looks like!), I'd be grateful.

Nice description, but a good picture is worth 1,000 words.

What area are you in?

You can look up weed and plant images by state or province at the EWIRM
database located at the World of Weeds www.ergonica.com.

Many of these references allow you to identify plants by selecting key
features, instead of viewing hundreds (thousands) of photos.

______
EWIRM: Nature makes plants, humans make weeds!