Mystery "weed"
 

I have a volunteer in one of my hanging baskets along with the Bougainville.

http://www.PictureTrail.com/uid3975444

It is about 18 inches tall. The berries have a gooseberry look though not
as big, in that you can see faint strips on the berry. No thorns. It
appears to be very prolific. The flower is about the size of a pencil
eraser, five white petals with a bright yellow center. I don't know if I
should do away with it or propagate it.

Cliff

In message , Cliff
writes
I have a volunteer in one of my hanging baskets along with the Bougainville.

http://www.PictureTrail.com/uid3975444

It is about 18 inches tall. The berries have a gooseberry look though not
as big, in that you can see faint strips on the berry. No thorns. It
appears to be very prolific. The flower is about the size of a pencil
eraser, five white petals with a bright yellow center. I don't know if I
should do away with it or propagate it.

Cliff


Some sort of Solanum - probably poisonous. The USDA has 27 species
present in Texas.
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley

It is a Solanum, possibly Solanum nigrum or Solanum americanum but
there are other possibilities that occur locally. The Solanums
(Nightshades) native to central Texas tend to be hairy and have at
least small thorns. The flower here is very distinctive.


On Sat, 27 Aug 2005 20:12:51 GMT, "Cliff" wrote:

I have a volunteer in one of my hanging baskets along with the Bougainville.

http://www.PictureTrail.com/uid3975444

It is about 18 inches tall. The berries have a gooseberry look though not
as big, in that you can see faint strips on the berry. No thorns. It
appears to be very prolific. The flower is about the size of a pencil
eraser, five white petals with a bright yellow center. I don't know if I
should do away with it or propagate it.

Cliff



Rusty Mase
Austin, Texas

You have called it. It is Solanum nigrum. Do you mind sharing how you went
about identifying it, did you just know it from past experience or is there
some logic tree you went through?

Thanks,

"Rusty Mase" wrote in message
...
It is a Solanum, possibly Solanum nigrum or Solanum americanum but
there are other possibilities that occur locally. The Solanums
(Nightshades) native to central Texas tend to be hairy and have at
least small thorns. The flower here is very distinctive.


On Sat, 27 Aug 2005 20:12:51 GMT, "Cliff" wrote:

I have a volunteer in one of my hanging baskets along with the
Bougainville.

http://www.PictureTrail.com/uid3975444

It is about 18 inches tall. The berries have a gooseberry look though not
as big, in that you can see faint strips on the berry. No thorns. It
appears to be very prolific. The flower is about the size of a pencil
eraser, five white petals with a bright yellow center. I don't know if I
should do away with it or propagate it.

Cliff



Rusty Mase
Austin, Texas

On Sun, 28 Aug 2005 15:48:37 GMT, "Cliff" wrote:

You have called it. It is Solanum nigrum. Do you mind sharing how you went
about identifying it, did you just know it from past experience or is there
some logic tree you went through?

No, I have worked with native plants for about 40 years and it is just
intuitive by now. Now as far as a logic tree or modus operandi, I
would recommend accumulating books on plants with good photos or line
drawings and just comparing an unknown plant to these. After a while
you get used to putting them into categories that match the way plants
are classified and named. I do not know if you can do this
effectively online as you only see one plant at a time and you need a
name to even find that.

For instance, if you sit down with Enquist's "Wildflowers of the Texas
Hill Country" and start perusing the photos you will come across
Solanum triquetrum sooner or later and the similarities will give you
the genus, Solanum, of your unknown. Then you can go through
individual species online and figure out what you have.

Rusty Mase
Austin, Texas

Thanks

"Rusty Mase" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 28 Aug 2005 15:48:37 GMT, "Cliff" wrote:

You have called it. It is Solanum nigrum. Do you mind sharing how you
went
about identifying it, did you just know it from past experience or is
there
some logic tree you went through?

No, I have worked with native plants for about 40 years and it is just
intuitive by now. Now as far as a logic tree or modus operandi, I
would recommend accumulating books on plants with good photos or line
drawings and just comparing an unknown plant to these. After a while
you get used to putting them into categories that match the way plants
are classified and named. I do not know if you can do this
effectively online as you only see one plant at a time and you need a
name to even find that.

For instance, if you sit down with Enquist's "Wildflowers of the Texas
Hill Country" and start perusing the photos you will come across
Solanum triquetrum sooner or later and the similarities will give you
the genus, Solanum, of your unknown. Then you can go through
individual species online and figure out what you have.

Rusty Mase
Austin, Texas

No, I have worked with native plants for about 40 years and it is just
intuitive by now. Now as far as a logic tree or modus operandi, I
would recommend accumulating books on plants with good photos or line
drawings and just comparing an unknown plant to these. After a while
you get used to putting them into categories that match the way plants
are classified and named. I do not know if you can do this
effectively online as you only see one plant at a time and you need a
name to even find that.

For instance, if you sit down with Enquist's "Wildflowers of the Texas
Hill Country" and start perusing the photos you will come across
Solanum triquetrum sooner or later and the similarities will give you
the genus, Solanum, of your unknown. Then you can go through
individual species online and figure out what you have.

Rusty Mase
Austin, Texas

Hey Rusty..
Got another wierd one for ya..I am finding Bastrop must be the burmuda
triangle for wierd bugs, critters and plants!
I was poking around in my back woods, spraying the damn greenbriars with
roundup and found a couple of really odd vines. The vine is very thin and
has few leaves but what is odd is the fruit growing on it..They look almost
exactly like grape tomatos..Same color, size and basic texture. Only
difference is the fruit last a long time and don't seem to be bothered by
the local critters..One of these is actually growing up in a cedar tree..The
other one is on the ground..Anyone ever seen such a vine?
Been fighting those dang greenbriars..Found the only way I can kill them is
to make a very strong mixture of roundup in a spray bottle and carefully
spray them..The ones too close to other vegitation I pull out but these
things are mean..Some folks say "dig em up" but there is no way..Too many..I
figure if I keep killing the vines off the tuber will eventually get a taste
of the roundup..I stick plastic under them so the roundup doesn't get on the
ground too..Being very careful! :-)

John

On Mon, 29 Aug 2005 09:24:06 -0500, "John"
wrote:

Got another wierd one for ya..I am finding Bastrop must be the burmuda
triangle for wierd bugs, critters and plants!
I was poking around in my back woods, spraying the damn greenbriars with
roundup and found a couple of really odd vines. The vine is very thin and
has few leaves but what is odd is the fruit growing on it..They look almost
exactly like grape tomatos..Same color, size and basic texture. Only
difference is the fruit last a long time and don't seem to be bothered by
the local critters..One of these is actually growing up in a cedar tree..The
other one is on the ground..Anyone ever seen such a vine?

Do a Google Search for "balsam gourd" and see it that is close. This
should be about the right time for them.

Rusty Mase
Austin, Texas

"Rusty Mase" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 29 Aug 2005 09:24:06 -0500, "John"
wrote:

Got another wierd one for ya..I am finding Bastrop must be the burmuda
triangle for wierd bugs, critters and plants!
I was poking around in my back woods, spraying the damn greenbriars with
roundup and found a couple of really odd vines. The vine is very thin and
has few leaves but what is odd is the fruit growing on it..They look
almost
exactly like grape tomatos..Same color, size and basic texture. Only
difference is the fruit last a long time and don't seem to be bothered by
the local critters..One of these is actually growing up in a cedar
tree..The
other one is on the ground..Anyone ever seen such a vine?

Do a Google Search for "balsam gourd" and see it that is close. This
should be about the right time for them.

Rusty Mase
Austin, Texas

Hi Rusty!
Yep..That looks like it..Very odd little plant but very cool..The fruit
stays on it for a long time..
Thanks so much!
John

Imagine that bamboos flowered every year. You could grow loads of them from seeds. As it is, you can split a plant every 1 - 5 years (sometimes more!) to get a new plant. That takes a fair amount of time and effort, and hence the high price. Bear in mind that plantings from established groves require a fair amount of attention to ensure that they survive, and even so there can be a significant failure

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