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#1
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Dahlia, viruses and well nurtured weeds
Some weeks back, I said I thought a mysterious plant in my garden,
growing alongside my dahlias, looked like them to such an extent - and yet not like them - that I thought it might just be a virused dahlia. Now, having observed the plant closely since, I have come to the conclusion that my theory is pretty daft: the plant looks increasingly less like a diseased dahlia, and more and more like an obscenely healthy something else. Have I been lovingly nurturing a common garden weed? Can anyone identify the beast? The photos were taken some weeks ago. http://tinypic.com/euhk7q.jpg http://tinypic.com/euhmhy.jpg Cat(h) The world swirls... Cat(h) The world swirls... |
#2
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Dahlia, viruses and well nurtured weeds
In message , Cat
writes Some weeks back, I said I thought a mysterious plant in my garden, growing alongside my dahlias, looked like them to such an extent - and yet not like them - that I thought it might just be a virused dahlia. Now, having observed the plant closely since, I have come to the conclusion that my theory is pretty daft: the plant looks increasingly less like a diseased dahlia, and more and more like an obscenely healthy something else. Have I been lovingly nurturing a common garden weed? Can anyone identify the beast? Mugwort, _Artemisia vulgaris_ The photos were taken some weeks ago. http://tinypic.com/euhk7q.jpg http://tinypic.com/euhmhy.jpg -- Stewart Robert Hinsley |
#3
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Dahlia, viruses and well nurtured weeds
In article , Stewart Robert Hinsley
writes In message , Cat writes Some weeks back, I said I thought a mysterious plant in my garden, growing alongside my dahlias, looked like them to such an extent - and yet not like them - that I thought it might just be a virused dahlia. Now, having observed the plant closely since, I have come to the conclusion that my theory is pretty daft: the plant looks increasingly less like a diseased dahlia, and more and more like an obscenely healthy something else. Have I been lovingly nurturing a common garden weed? Can anyone identify the beast? Mugwort, _Artemisia vulgaris_ I'm hesitate to question your identification since you have much greater wildflower knowledge than I .... but the leaves are not as grey and nowhere near as serrated as I know for Mugwort. Can it take this form? My first reaction was some sort of chenopodium but if so it's huge! The photos were taken some weeks ago. http://tinypic.com/euhk7q.jpg http://tinypic.com/euhmhy.jpg -- Kay "Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river" |
#4
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Dahlia, viruses and well nurtured weeds
Kay wrote:
In article , Stewart Robert Hinsley writes [...] Mugwort, _Artemisia vulgaris_ I'm hesitate to question your identification since you have much greater wildflower knowledge than I .... but the leaves are not as grey and nowhere near as serrated as I know for Mugwort. Can it take this form? My first reaction was some sort of chenopodium but if so it's huge! Does that count as two of us so far, then? It's much more like a goosefoot than anything else I can think of: remember, most gardeners never see the thing in its pomp. For mugwort I'd want to see rather white undersides and furriness as well as the greyness -- this is very bright. Just looked in Collins Field guide, and the pictures don't show anything this crowded among the chenopods; but the pictures aren't recent, so the thing's probably blown a lot by now. I'm still for one of the goosefeet. -- Mike. |
#5
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Dahlia, viruses and well nurtured weeds
In message , Kay
writes In article , Stewart Robert Hinsley writes In message , Cat writes Some weeks back, I said I thought a mysterious plant in my garden, growing alongside my dahlias, looked like them to such an extent - and yet not like them - that I thought it might just be a virused dahlia. Now, having observed the plant closely since, I have come to the conclusion that my theory is pretty daft: the plant looks increasingly less like a diseased dahlia, and more and more like an obscenely healthy something else. Have I been lovingly nurturing a common garden weed? Can anyone identify the beast? Mugwort, _Artemisia vulgaris_ I'm hesitate to question your identification since you have much greater wildflower knowledge than I .... but the leaves are not as grey and nowhere near as serrated as I know for Mugwort. Can it take this form? My first reaction was some sort of chenopodium but if so it's huge! You could well be right. Artemisia and Chenopodium are sufficiently superficially similar that it took me some years to learn to distinguish them in the flesh. (Which means I can still be fooled by photographs, which give less context.) Looking again at the flowers, it does look like a Chenopodium. Checking Keble-Martin, Red Goosefoot, Chenopodium rubrum, looks the best match. (The only goosefoot that I see regularly is Fat Hen, Chenopodium album.) My experience is that Mugwort, as opposed to the other Artemisias, is not particularly grey, or dissected-leaved. I'd say that Fat Hen is greyer than Mugwort. (If you don't look at the underside of the leaves.) According to Stace, Red Goosefoot can reach 1m. Fat Hen can reach 1.5m. It's not the height, but the width, that seems wrong. Goosefoots are mostly annual, and I'd expect them to be single stemmed, even if extensively branched; the photograph looks like a multiply stemmed plant. Good King Henry, Chenopodium bonus-henricus, is perennial, but only reaches (according to Stace) 50cm. -- Stewart Robert Hinsley |
#6
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Dahlia, viruses and well nurtured weeds
In article , Stewart Robert Hinsley
writes According to Stace, Red Goosefoot can reach 1m. Fat Hen can reach 1.5m. It's not the height, but the width, that seems wrong. Goosefoots are mostly annual, and I'd expect them to be single stemmed, even if extensively branched; the photograph looks like a multiply stemmed plant. Good King Henry, Chenopodium bonus-henricus, is perennial, but only reaches (according to Stace) 50cm. I've seen them multi-stemmed. But they're not a group I'm particularly interested in, so all the multi stemmed ones could well have been Good King Henry -- Kay "Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river" |
#7
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Dahlia, viruses and well nurtured weeds
Stewart Robert Hinsley wrote:
In message , Cat writes [...] Have I been lovingly nurturing a common garden weed? Can anyone identify the beast? Mugwort, _Artemisia vulgaris_ The photos were taken some weeks ago. http://tinypic.com/euhk7q.jpg http://tinypic.com/euhmhy.jpg I think it's a particularly hearty goosefoot: if I'm right, have it out before it drops any more seeds than it's probably scattered already. -- Mike. |
#8
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Dahlia, viruses and well nurtured weeds
"Cat" wrote in message ... Some weeks back, I said I thought a mysterious plant in my garden, growing alongside my dahlias, looked like them to such an extent - and yet not like them - that I thought it might just be a virused dahlia. Now, having observed the plant closely since, I have come to the conclusion that my theory is pretty daft: the plant looks increasingly less like a diseased dahlia, and more and more like an obscenely healthy something else. Have I been lovingly nurturing a common garden weed? Can anyone identify the beast? The photos were taken some weeks ago. http://tinypic.com/euhk7q.jpg http://tinypic.com/euhmhy.jpg ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~# Exceptionally good example of the variation found within the Goosefoot family. [Chenopodiaceae] There are more than twelve native or introduced species and each of these has a mutitude of variations. A peculiar family, in that it has no natural habitat other than in association with man and has evolved as such, similar to the dog. Leaves were used as spinach and seeds as grain. Best Wishes Brian. |
#9
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Dahlia, viruses and well nurtured weeds
Brian wrote: http://tinypic.com/euhk7q.jpg http://tinypic.com/euhmhy.jpg ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~# Exceptionally good example of the variation found within the Goosefoot family. [Chenopodiaceae] There are more than twelve native or introduced species and each of these has a mutitude of variations. A peculiar family, in that it has no natural habitat other than in association with man and has evolved as such, similar to the dog. Leaves were used as spinach and seeds as grain. Best Wishes Brian. The plant has been so well looked after next to the dahlias - it's the healthiest one I've seen in ages (beside one I've seen on an abandonned plot recently, almost 2m high). The seeds used as grain is coming back into fashion, like the quinoa (which I don't like at all). I think the one you eat is called King Henry but I couldn't tell if the above can be eaten. The leaves certainly look like goose feet. |
#10
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Dahlia, viruses and well nurtured weeds
On 23 Oct 2005 05:48:59 -0700, "La puce" wrote:
Brian wrote: http://tinypic.com/euhk7q.jpg http://tinypic.com/euhmhy.jpg ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~# Exceptionally good example of the variation found within the Goosefoot family. [Chenopodiaceae] There are more than twelve native or introduced species and each of these has a mutitude of variations. A peculiar family, in that it has no natural habitat other than in association with man and has evolved as such, similar to the dog. Leaves were used as spinach and seeds as grain. Best Wishes Brian. The plant has been so well looked after next to the dahlias - it's the healthiest one I've seen in ages (beside one I've seen on an abandonned plot recently, almost 2m high). The seeds used as grain is coming back into fashion, like the quinoa (which I don't like at all). I think the one you eat is called King Henry but I couldn't tell if the above can be eaten. The leaves certainly look like goose feet. Arumpf... There is something deeply gratifying about raising the healthiest... weed on records. Cat(h) The world swirls... |
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