Hello to sci.bio.botany,
I am a complete ignoramus when it comes to botany however I
do take care of the plants in my garden without much
trouble.

This year however I have been puzzling over the identity of
two plants that appeared in my patio pots. ...........

In the new year I planted up two new terracotta troughs with
some daffodil bulbs from last year, in new peat based
compost.
The daffs came through OK and also these two little plants!!
one in each trough.
When the daffs had finished I replaced them and potted these
two separately- see Flikr links below for photographs - and
brought them into my conservatory.
The brown woody stem continues as a single root for about
4/6 inches without any side roots (just a few white root
hairs) and ends in a white growing tip about a quarter of an
inch long.
The "leaves" are narrow, fleshy and smooth, about one &
a-half inches long.
Since first coming through and achieving the size in the
pictures ( taken in early June ), their growth has been
fairly static showing only slow progress .

I wondered if you could throw any light on what they might
be, having drawn a blank at two local nurseries/garden
centres.

They don't seem to be of local origin and my suspicion is
that they have originated in the peat as I don't see any
other way for them to have arrived!!

www.flickr.com/photos/17895095@N02/1858369261/
www.flickr.com/photos/17895095@N02/1859173644/
www.flickr.com/photos/17895095@N02/1858330849/

regards
Jake Wade
East Yorkshire
ENGLAND