Identification: Is this Plant a Stevia?

Discussion in 'Indoor and Greenhouse Plants' started by SvenLittkowski, Dec 29, 2009.

  1. SvenLittkowski

    SvenLittkowski Active Member

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    Just as the headline already asks: is this plant a Stevia?
     

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  2. Andrey Zharkikh

    Andrey Zharkikh Well-Known Member 10 Years

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    Most of Stevia pictures show opposite leaves, whereas your plant seems to have alternate leaves. Just a thought...
     
  3. SvenLittkowski

    SvenLittkowski Active Member

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    What else could it be then?
     
  4. teague

    teague Active Member 10 Years

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    Kinda looks like a Basil plant.
     
  5. Andrey Zharkikh

    Andrey Zharkikh Well-Known Member 10 Years

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    Basil leaves should also be opposite and with rounded base, not cuneate as in this plant.
     
  6. SvenLittkowski

    SvenLittkowski Active Member

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    I am supplying two more photos, hopefully this helps...
     

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  7. plantian

    plantian Member

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    My Stevia has fuzzy stems and leaves. This plant doesn't appear to. It definitely needs a lot more light in any case!
     
  8. SvenLittkowski

    SvenLittkowski Active Member

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    Hi Plantian, what indicates that the plant needs more light? I am happy to learn a bit, I am not yet that good with plants.
     
  9. plantian

    plantian Member

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    You can tell because the space on the stems between the leaves is very long and the leaves don't appear to be as large as they should to my eye. The stems also seem a thinner than they should, and don't seem to support their own weight terribly well. That all usually means the plant is trying very hard to stretch itself out and reach a better source of light.

    Raffi
    http://www.gardenology.org
     
  10. Steve H

    Steve H Active Member

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    You could of course smell the foliage? Stevia of course is sickly sweet tasting though as noted above, both have opposite leaves. Reminds me of something in the Solanaceae to me?.....
     
  11. SvenLittkowski

    SvenLittkowski Active Member

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    Ahh! I see! Thanks a lot. Well, the distance between the leaves is 15 centimenters, and the diameter of an average stem (not on the ground) is 4 millimeters.
     
  12. SvenLittkowski

    SvenLittkowski Active Member

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    I tasted one of its leafs, and they taste actually ... leafy. Not sweet at all, not even like any herb. Just like an ordinary leaf. Hmm... I wonder still, what plant it is...

    If it was a Stevia, when would the blossoming season start? I am in Jamaica but grow them at home.
     
  13. plantian

    plantian Member

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    I think you should put the plant outdoors for a while if you are in Jamaica. I think it will be happier and healthier, and the growth would be easier to identify after it grows outside for a month or two. It's harder to identify when it's a bit distorted from its need for light.

    Where did the plant come from, by the way? That could help solve this...

    Raffi
    http://www.gardenology.org
     
  14. SvenLittkowski

    SvenLittkowski Active Member

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    Hi. I bought the plant seeds among many others online. One package was Stevia. So I would naturally assume, this is supposed to be a Stevia. But the missing sweetness makes me thinking...

    One question more: if Stevia blossoms, when will that be, and how do the blossoms look alike? Maybe that, then, can help further.
     
  15. plantian

    plantian Member

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    There is a photo of the flowers on the Stevia article on Gardenology. Mine was flowering a month ago, but I cut the flowers off to focus the energy of the plants on the leaves.

    http://www.gardenology.org/wiki/Stevia
     
  16. SvenLittkowski

    SvenLittkowski Active Member

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    Thanks! Hmm... The leafs look very different from the leafs of my "Stevia". I will make a leaf detail photo and attach it...

    Photo 1: Leaf top
    Photo 2: Leaf bottom
     

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