I bought a plant from my local floral shop and found this little guy growing in the pot. It has small corn-cob-like buds (maybe) coming in (you can see one under the upper left leaf if you zoom in) and a small amount of fuzz on each leaf (zoom in to see). Any guidance at all to identify this plant would be wonderful!
No way a Hydrangea. Note the square stem. More likely a weedy greenhouse annual. Probably Pilea pumila.
Looked up Hydrangia and it doesn't seem to fit. However, the small buds have now bloomed into white, fluffy flowers...teeny-tiny flowers, but flowers nonetheless. The plant is about five inches tall right now, but seems to be growing fast.
Can't get a hold of a better camera for a closer-up shot. I will try to do some work with photos I have to try to get a bigger image. But....Someone suggested that it might be a China Doll. Would that fit?
No it's definitely not a China Doll - Not Radermachera anyway. I suppose China Doll could be the common name for another plant.
Don't think that it can be Morus alba. Morus alba has alternate leaves. Photo looks like opposite.Not a clue what it is! Would like to see the flower.
It could even be a tree seedling. It doesn't look 100% like a houseplant to me at all. I do get a sense of deja-vu from it though.
Okay folks...It's been a little bit of a wait for my mystery plant to bloom and for my camera to capture it, but here are a few good pics of the "blooms." As you can see, there are two types of blooms: one a fuzzy growth above the leaves; the other a puffy looking bloom-ball that grows under the leaves. I think the chenille plant might be closest, but I need some confirmation. I've never had an unidentified plant in my home....
Hornbeam Mercury, Acalypha ostryifolia? http://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/weeds/plants/hb_mercury.htm HTH Chris
New pics seem to eliminate Pilea pumila,the veins on the leaves look wrong. http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=PIPU2
The images of the ostryaefolia I found at http://www.missouriplants.com/Greenalt/Acalypha_ostryaefolia_page.html seem to match perfectly, and also explain why there seem to be multiple types of flowers! But, after some looking around, it looks like my plant is a weed, after all (which explains why it is so hardy). What should I do with it? If I keep it, will it affect (or infect) my other plants (or even my state)?
Ah, my sense of plant deja vu was right again. It's related to the ornamental Acalypha plants with the long "cat tail" flower heads. The leaves are somewhat similar. Shame my plant deja vu doesn't ever grow into a plant name though ;-)
