What big teeth this has! What is it?

Discussion in 'Talk about UBC Botanical Garden' started by wcutler, May 7, 2019.

  1. wcutler

    wcutler Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout 10 Years

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    I think we saw this plant at what I'm calling 1st Forrest, when we were going on about how Douglas Justice was lying to us in his blog about a maple being nearby, which we later found at the next Forrest Trail sign farther down Lower Asian Way. Now I see that it's curved trail and there are two Forrest Trail locations on Lower Asian Way. Anyway, the plant - the leaves have remarkably big serrations, and they are very regular. Branching is opposite. We didn't find a label, and it has a kind-of creepy weed look to it. Is it meant to be there?
    Serrated-cordate-leaves_UBCBG_Cutler_20190506_131611.jpg Serrated-cordate-leaves_UBCBG_Cutler_20190506_131612.jpg
     
  2. Daniel Mosquin

    Daniel Mosquin Paragon of Plants UBC Botanical Garden Forums Administrator Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    Urticaceae of some sort. May not be Urtica dioica, though we don't have records of anything else here. It's probably good for caterpillars!
     
  3. wcutler

    wcutler Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout 10 Years

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    Thank you. It's nice to have something to offer the caterpillars something they can fill up on before moving on to your treasured specimen plants.
     
  4. Eric La Fountaine

    Eric La Fountaine Contributor Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    Looks like weedy nettles to me. It's all around the edges of the Garden.
     
  5. wcutler

    wcutler Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout 10 Years

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    @Gomero posted a photo on Facebook of what looked the same to me, and he thought looked the same, says his (in Pibrac, France) is Boehmeria japonica. I see this has a common name of Japanese false nettle.
     
  6. Ron B

    Ron B Paragon of Plants 10 Years

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    That's a rare exotic species that doesn't pop up all over in this area.
     
  7. wcutler

    wcutler Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout 10 Years

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    So @Eric La Fountaine, when you said "weedy nettles", you were confirming the Urtica dioica, common nettle, ID?
     
  8. Eric La Fountaine

    Eric La Fountaine Contributor Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    No. I was just saying it looked like them. I don't find an accession of Boehmeria in our data that really looks like this plant to me. We have had B. gigantea, something called grandiflora (not a name I find), and platanifolia. We have had very few accessions of Urticaceae and nothing else that looks like this. It's a mystery to me and I don't know where this is in the garden.
     
  9. Michael F

    Michael F Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    Urtica dioica for me too.
     
  10. Ron B

    Ron B Paragon of Plants 10 Years

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    The Boehmeria I have seen in the Lam Garden in the past (I haven't been there in years) were quite visibly different from the nettles being asked about here.
     
  11. wcutler

    wcutler Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout 10 Years

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    Here is Boehmeria platanifolia, from next to the Boardwalk west of the Reception Centre.
    Boehmeria platanifolia_UBCBG_Cutler_20200917_132008.jpg Boehmeria platanifolia_UBCBG_Cutler_20200917_132116.jpg

    I wonder if the plant I posted at the start of this thread is even still there. I didn't think about this thread, didn't think to look.
     
  12. Eric La Fountaine

    Eric La Fountaine Contributor Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    On a recent walk through the Garden I saw the patch of plants that Wendy had originaly posted in this thread. Looks just like the photo--not nettles. I'll try to get a piece of it verified when I am in to work next. (I work remotely 3 or 4 days of the week and only go to the office once or twice per week currently.)
     
  13. wcutler

    wcutler Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout 10 Years

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    I could not find it today! Has it been removed? I thought it was visible standing on Lower Asian Way just east of 1st Forrest.
     
  14. wcutler

    wcutler Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout 10 Years

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    There is a patch of plants with similar leaves in the grove where the pinkest Melliodendron is. Are these the same? These photos were taken in April; something just reminded me that I never posted them. If this is stinging nettle, is that a female flower?
    Urticaceae-BlueFlowers_UBCBG-NearPinkMelliodendron_Cutler_20210423_145612.jpg Urticaceae-BlueFlowers_UBCBG-NearPinkMelliodendron_Cutler_20210423_145614.jpg Urticaceae-BlueFlowers_UBCBG-NearPinkMelliodendron_Cutler_20210423_145622.jpg
    This photo was taken 20 seconds later, might help with the location.
    Melliodendron-xylocarpum_UBCBG_Cutler_20210423_145647.jpg

    I found what should be a good description of Urtica dioica, with some look-alike photos. It's not helping me, though.
    How to Identify Stinging Nettle (with Pictures) - wikiHow.
     
  15. Daniel Mosquin

    Daniel Mosquin Paragon of Plants UBC Botanical Garden Forums Administrator Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    That's some sort of borage growing through the nettle.
     
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  16. Ron B

    Ron B Paragon of Plants 10 Years

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    Blue flower is Pentaglottis.
     
  17. wcutler

    wcutler Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout 10 Years

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    Ah, Pentaglottis sempervirens, since that's the only species in that genus, and yes, in Boraginaceae. Thanks. I thought the leaves were young enough that they didn't have their proper margins yet and hadn't lost their hairs. I'm looking on Garden Explorer to see if I can get the location for the PlantNet map (though it's not allowed to contribute it from a URL, and I can't figure this out now), but it's not listed in the garden's data.

    I've now found a page with flower photos for Urtica dioica.
    Know your nettles — Handmade Apothecary
     

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