A friend recently sent me this leaf for identification. [ they must be
confused if they think i know stuff ].

http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=otnr87&s=4


It 'was' quite green apparently, but since lying about has turned a yellowy
colour. The spine is black and quite a hard material. The lines at right
angles to the length are just where it's been folded to go in an envelope
for posting.

Grateful for any info on what plant this might be please, thanks.

"john zeiss" wrote in message
...
A friend recently sent me this leaf for identification. [ they must be
confused if they think i know stuff ].

http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=otnr87&s=4


It 'was' quite green apparently, but since lying about has turned a
yellowy colour. The spine is black and quite a hard material. The lines
at right angles to the length are just where it's been folded to go in an
envelope for posting.

Grateful for any info on what plant this might be please, thanks.



Is it an outdoor plant or a houseplant? A shrub? What?
How big is the leaf? Does it flower? Much more info needed than a photo
of a dead leaf unfortunately ;-)
My wildest guess is ficus.

In message , Christina Websell
writes

"john zeiss" wrote in message
...
A friend recently sent me this leaf for identification. [ they must be
confused if they think i know stuff ].

http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=otnr87&s=4


It 'was' quite green apparently, but since lying about has turned a
yellowy colour. The spine is black and quite a hard material. The lines
at right angles to the length are just where it's been folded to go in an
envelope for posting.

Grateful for any info on what plant this might be please, thanks.



Is it an outdoor plant or a houseplant? A shrub? What?
How big is the leaf? Does it flower? Much more info needed than a photo
of a dead leaf unfortunately ;-)
My wildest guess is ficus.

He could turn it over and see if the veins are any more prominent on the
other side. It looks as if there's a mere hint of pinnate venation.
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley

Christina Websell writes


Is it an outdoor plant or a houseplant? A shrub? What?
How big is the leaf? Does it flower? Much more info needed than a photo
of a dead leaf unfortunately ;-)
My wildest guess is ficus.

Ficus is more oval, and you'd be hard put to fold it into an envelope
without splitting it ;-)

The black midrib should be a clue.

--
Kay

"K" wrote in message
...
Christina Websell writes


Is it an outdoor plant or a houseplant? A shrub? What?
How big is the leaf? Does it flower? Much more info needed than a photo
of a dead leaf unfortunately ;-)
My wildest guess is ficus.

Ficus is more oval, and you'd be hard put to fold it into an envelope
without splitting it ;-)

The black midrib should be a clue.

I said it was a wild guess! ;-)
What are your thoughts on it?









--
Kay

Christina Websell writes

"K" wrote in message
...
Christina Websell writes


Is it an outdoor plant or a houseplant? A shrub? What?
How big is the leaf? Does it flower? Much more info needed than a photo
of a dead leaf unfortunately ;-)
My wildest guess is ficus.

Ficus is more oval, and you'd be hard put to fold it into an envelope
without splitting it ;-)

The black midrib should be a clue.

I said it was a wild guess! ;-)
What are your thoughts on it?

No more than I said! It looks like the end of a harts tongue fern ;-)
But I think we had better assume it's the whole leaf.
--
Kay

"K" wrote in message
...
Christina Websell writes

"K" wrote in message
...
Christina Websell writes


Is it an outdoor plant or a houseplant? A shrub? What?
How big is the leaf? Does it flower? Much more info needed than a
photo
of a dead leaf unfortunately ;-)
My wildest guess is ficus.

Ficus is more oval, and you'd be hard put to fold it into an envelope
without splitting it ;-)

The black midrib should be a clue.

I said it was a wild guess! ;-)
What are your thoughts on it?

No more than I said! It looks like the end of a harts tongue fern ;-)
But I think we had better assume it's the whole leaf.
--
Oh, I thought you meant you knew it because of the black mid-rib! g
It could be lots of things without more clues. Even laurel at a pinch.
Do give us all a chance, original poster ;-) My psychic ability is low at
the moment..
I do so like trying to identify plants, although I am not all that good at
it yet. But I have books..

In message , Christina Websell
writes

"K" wrote in message
...
Christina Websell writes


Is it an outdoor plant or a houseplant? A shrub? What?
How big is the leaf? Does it flower? Much more info needed than a photo
of a dead leaf unfortunately ;-)
My wildest guess is ficus.

Ficus is more oval, and you'd be hard put to fold it into an envelope
without splitting it ;-)

The black midrib should be a clue.

I said it was a wild guess! ;-)
What are your thoughts on it?

That shape of leaf is typical of wet sclerophylla forest - so there
would be also sort of possibilties - Ficus (not elastica, but one of the
other species), Prunus laurocerasus, Rhododendron, and many others.

The lack of any distinguishable secondary venation makes me consider the
possibility that it may be a fern. (Monocots are commonly
parallel-veined, and dicots reticulate-veined.) I hadn't considered the
constraints on identification imposed by the observed ability to fold it
without splitting it, but that would exclude the majority of
sclerophylls, and might be another point in favour of identification as
a fern.
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley

The message
from "john zeiss" contains these words:

A friend recently sent me this leaf for identification. [ they must be
confused if they think i know stuff ].

http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=otnr87&s=4


It 'was' quite green apparently, but since lying about has turned a yellowy
colour. The spine is black and quite a hard material. The lines at right
angles to the length are just where it's been folded to go in an envelope
for posting.

Grateful for any info on what plant this might be please, thanks.


Cut the connection - it was taking too long to download.

Sorry.

--
Rusty
Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk
Separator in search of a sig

Christina Websell writes

"K" wrote in message
...
Christina Websell writes

"K" wrote in message

The black midrib should be a clue.

I said it was a wild guess! ;-)
What are your thoughts on it?

No more than I said! It looks like the end of a harts tongue fern ;-)
But I think we had better assume it's the whole leaf.
--
Oh, I thought you meant you knew it because of the black mid-rib! g

It was rather that the black mid-rib stopped me knowing it! ;-)
I'm not good at houseplants, and none of the half-remembered
possibilities I looked at had a black midrib.

In fact the only things that spring to mind as having a black midrib are
some of the ferns.


--
Kay

In message , K
writes
Christina Websell writes

"K" wrote in message
...
Christina Websell writes

"K" wrote in message

The black midrib should be a clue.

I said it was a wild guess! ;-)
What are your thoughts on it?

No more than I said! It looks like the end of a harts tongue fern ;-)
But I think we had better assume it's the whole leaf.
--
Oh, I thought you meant you knew it because of the black mid-rib! g

It was rather that the black mid-rib stopped me knowing it! ;-)
I'm not good at houseplants, and none of the half-remembered
possibilities I looked at had a black midrib.

In fact the only things that spring to mind as having a black midrib
are some of the ferns.


You might well have been on the right lines when you mentioned the
hart's tounge fern. I've been through my files of digital photographs,
and it looks like Asplenium nidus, which does have a black midrib, at
least sometimes.

It appears that the Asplenium nidus of commerce is composed of one or
more members of a species complex, and should be referred to as
Asplenium nidus hort, rather than Asplenium nidus L. (When the botanists
have sorted them out, they might arrange for the commonest plant in
cultivation to be Asplenium nidus, as it may not be possible to tell
which species Linnaeus based his description on.)
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley

The message
from K contains these words:

In fact the only things that spring to mind as having a black midrib are
some of the ferns.

Nokia, Motorola, Sony...?

D&RFC

--
Rusty
Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk
Separator in search of a sig

Stewart Robert Hinsley wrote:
It appears that the Asplenium nidus of commerce is composed of one or
more members of a species complex, and should be referred to as
Asplenium nidus hort, rather than Asplenium nidus L. ..............

No need for that, the plant grown as 'Asplenium nidus' is A.
australasicum - a relatively common species in its native Australia. By
contrast, the true A. nidus is quite rare in nature and very much more
so in horticulture.

As for the identity of the leaf it could be from A. australasicum, but
the picture is too poor for anyone to give a definite identification.

--
Dave Poole
Torquay, Coastal South Devon UK
Winter min -2C. Summer max 35C.
Growing season: March - November